


No Place to Die

by sinshifter



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Canon Divergence after S2 ep12, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Eren just wants to save his friends, Erwin Smith Being an Asshole, Eventual Levi/Eren Yeager, Fluff and Angst, Hange Zoë Ships It, Levi is In Denial (Shingeki no Kyojin), Levi is an amazing captain, M/M, Minor Mikasa Ackerman/Jean Kirstein, Misunderstandings, Past Reiner Braun/Eren Yeager, Pining Eren Yeager, Slow Burn, but he comes up with the WORST ways to do it, its okay because the Levi Squad is going to save his sorry ass, then maybe those two will sort out their feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26058880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinshifter/pseuds/sinshifter
Summary: “Since this is goodbye, would you do me a favor?”“Eren, what is going—““Please, Captain.”Levi purses his lips. “Fine. What is it?”Eren sticks his hand out in the short space between them. “Promise to believe in me,” he says. “I have a feeling things are about to get messy. It’ll be confusing— though it may not seem like it, everything may seem painfully clear— but I’m asking you to trust me through it all, sir.”A heavy, gritty feeling settles in the pit of Levi’s gut like a stone. Something caught between dread and terror crawls up his throat and leaves a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. He looks for an answer in Eren’s face.He doesn’t get one, nor the chance to shake the boy’s hand.+After being rescued from his abductors, Eren doubles back and attacks the Survey Corps to side with traitors Reiner and Bertholdt, shocking his friends and leaving them desperate for answers. Levi refuses to believe the boy he’s come to know so well (and dearly) could do something like this, and makes it his personal mission to seek Eren and the truth out— even if that means abandoning everything himself.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 20
Kudos: 73
Collections: Canon AOT





	1. Wednesday Morning

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone!
> 
> so I recently watched SNK for the first time, fell in love, and finished it within a week. each and every character is so complex and fascinating, and I love how Isayama really digs deep into the good motives/evil deeds theme in the canon story. it's something I wanted to explore more with this fic. I think Levi and Eren have great chemistry potential and are two amazing representations of good characters with selfish motives, and when you make their driving force EACH OTHER-- it should make for an interesting story :-)
> 
> expect misunderstandings that lead to giant fuck-ups, eren trying his best (and pining painfully for his captain), an in-denial levi, kidnappings and secret missions and betrayals (several. pls prepare yourself), and the new Levi Squad having to deal with a lot of shit.

Everything goes to hell on a Wednesday morning.

But it’s not Wednesday yet. It’s a cool, stifling Tuesday evening, and the sun won’t rise for hours. Everything is still okay. Everything still makes sense. It’s a Tuesday evening, and somebody knocks three times on Levi’s door— right on schedule. He doesn’t even look up from the papers he’s shuffling through at his desk.

“Come in, Eren.”

A pause, then Eren slips into the room, closing the door softly behind him. His entire body is tensed like a coiled spring, and his eyes keep darting around like it’s the first time he’s been there and not the dozenth or so. Levi’s gaze flickers from his papers to the boy, taking note of the fact that he’s still in full uniform and scruffed up.

After a moment, Eren stiffly thumps his fist over his chest in a rigid salute. Levi scowls, and as he opens his mouth to tell him to knock it off, he notices the grin on Eren’s face.

“At ease, soldier.”

Eren loosens with a short laugh, and takes the unsaid invitation to join Levi at his desk. It’s his usual spot, and has been for the weeks that Eren’s been frequenting Levi’s private quarters after dark. Sometimes they migrate to the couch tucked in the corner and sit at opposite ends to chat, or read, or sip quietly on Levi’s favorite tea and simply enjoy each other’s company. Levi still finds the idea amusing; that his life has shifted so drastically in such a short amount of time that he revels in Eren Jaeger's presence of all people.

“I hope I’m not interrupting, sir,” Eren says unnecessarily. He sits a little straighter than usual, and though his words are earnest, something in his tone catches Levi’s attention and makes him set his paperwork to the side.

“You are,” Levi says.

A flinch. “Oh. I could, uh, leave. If it’s not a good time.”

“But then you’d be back tomorrow, and we’d have this discussion all over again.” Levi keeps a blank stare as Eren squirms uncomfortably, face growing pink. He lasts all of five seconds before taking mercy on the boy. “I’m messing with you, Eren. Stay.”

Eren blinks at him dumbly, then slumps with a nervous chuckle. He looks tired. Levi wonders if he’s been sleeping alright. “You know, captain, it’s hard to tell that you’re teasing me when you keep the same straight face on.”

“I would think with all the time we’ve been spending together that you’d be able to tell my expressions apart by now.”

Eren looks up at him through his dark, pretty lashes. He must know what a sight he makes, to batter them like that. Levi squashes the thought almost immediately. “You mean all two of your expressions, sir?”

“Yes, all two of them.”

At this point, they usually divulge into their usual routine. Eren will bubble forth with complaints of that day’s training, uneasy comments about the increasingly volatile nature of Hanji’s experiments, and fill Levi in on the latest happenings of the castle and cadets while Levi sips on a cup of earl gray, grunting and contributing to the conversation occasionally. Levi treasures his peace and quiet, but has to admit that he’s grown fond of listening to Eren as the weeks have gone by.

He’s not exactly sure how they came to be in this situation; but it started when just days after the Corps had successfully saved Eren and brought him home, Levi found the boy at the lake behind the castle, knee-deep in the murky water and screaming into his hands, looking a couple seconds short of either going on a titan rampage or dunking himself below the surface. It was...a sight. Not one Levi recalls fondly. It didn’t take much convincing to get Eren to seek someone to talk out his frustrations with; venting ought to do some good to release all that pent-up rage inside him, and save Levi and the Corps from having to take down a fifteen-meter Eren in the long run. But damn it all, Eren refused to ‘burden any of his friends’, leaving Levi no choice but to drag the boy out of the lake, to the showers, and then into his room, where he tossed Eren into a chair and took the seat across from him. It hadn’t taken long for the boy to grow restless in the heavy silence, and he spilled into a feverish, tearful ramble for the next three hours.

The next morning, Eren smiled for the first time since his abduction, and Levi didn’t have the heart to turn him away when the boy shyly knocked on his door that night. 

However, Eren doesn’t launch right into conversation today. The smile on his face falters, and he picks at a thread on his jeans while worrying his lip. A knot of uneasiness begins to form in the confines of Levi’s chest, but he forces himself still despite it. By all physical measures, Eren seems perfectly fine. Tired, albeit, but that’s a granted. He’s still recovering from the abduction and is probably worn out from another long day of training. Still, there’s something about Eren that seems off. Levi would know. 

Levi leans back in his chair, props his legs on the table, and lets his eyes wander to the other side of the room. “Where were you?”

Even from the corner of his vision, he sees Eren jump. “Sir?”

“Your uniform is dirty.”

He glanced down at himself like he hadn’t even noticed. “Ah. Me and Mikasa were working on some hand-to-hand earlier. I guess I forgot to change before coming over, sorry.”

Levi’s fist clenches on his arm rest. The knot in his chest tightens. “You’ve dragged your sweaty-ass self into my room enough times for me to overlook some grass stains. But you weren’t practicing with Mikasa. Hell knows your terrifying sister will barely let you out into daily training without fussing over you like a mother hen— much less volunteer to kick your sorry behind around.” Eren stiffens uncomfortably. Levi shifts his gaze to him, putting real effort into making sure his face isn’t too cold.

A moment of pause. Then Eren lets out a short, false laugh. It grates against Levi’s skin. He knows all of Eren’s laughs: the obnoxious chuckles, roaring, deep-bellied laughs, hiccuping giggles that ring like bells. This one is so forced Levi’s surprised Eren hasn’t accidentally shit himself with the way he’s straining. 

“You got me. Jean said some shit after dinner and I couldn’t hold myself back. We got into it, but it wasn’t anything serious. Like you said, Mikasa wouldn’t let me do anything to hurt myself.”

Eren’s lie hangs in the air for several minutes. Levi takes his time in emptying his cup of tea, slowly sipping and letting the now-cold brew wash over his palette. He resists the urge to say something, do anything, in favor of letting Eren come clean all on his own.

But Eren says nothing else, and fidgets quietly in his chair with his eyes firmly glued to the wood.

His heartstrings twinge, and then Levi’s up and rounding the table, leaning against its edge in front of Eren. He startles and looks up.

“Eren,” Levi says in his captain voice, “what’s the matter?”

“I...what? Nothing’s wrong, sir.”

“Levi,” he says. “I told you you can call me Levi when it’s just the two of us”— Eren’s eyes widen— “and don’t bullshit me. I’ve sat through enough of your tantrums to figure out when something’s bothering you. You’re a terrible liar.”

Eren actually pouts. “They’re not tantrums.”

“Eren.”

He huffs hard enough to send part of his bang flying out of his face. It reminds Levi of what Isabel used to do when she was upset. Then she’d turn those puppy-dog eyes on him and pucker her lips until Levi broke down and conceded to whatever she wanted. Farlan would be no help, either, instead he’d encourage her and clap Levi’s shoulder consolingly whenever…

Levi crosses his arms and pinches his skin hard enough to draw blood. The thoughts recede. 

“I’m fine, really ca— Levi,” says Eren. He doesn’t quite give Levi puppy-dog eyes, but those green eyes have a similar enough affect on him anyways. “Just have had a lot on my mind lately.”

“Your abduction?”

“Yeah. Partly, at least.” Eren tilts his head back to the ceiling and shuts his eyes, forehead scrunched. “Every time I think I’m over it, Reinier and Bertholdt and Annie’s faces pop back into my mind and”— he raises an arm upwards, then clenches his fist— “I get so angry. Angry at them for betraying us, at myself for being weak, at the titans, the Corps, everybody.”

“Can’t blame you for that.”

Eren opens his eyes. “Can’t you? Aren’t you always saying my temper’s going to get me in trouble one day?”

“It will. So count your lucky fucking stars you have me to pull you out of the shit you get yourself into.”

That earns Levi a genuine smile, one with teeth, and it takes his breath away. Eren drops his arm.

“I really am lucky.”

Levi looks away. “Besides, anger isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Your endless, fiery rage for everything within a ten mile radius is what motivates you, gets you up in the morning, gets us past those walls, too. I’d say tending to that fire is necessary.”

“That’s a funny thing to say,” Eren says around a snort.

“It’s true.”

He hums. “Well, I don’t need any extra help fanning the flames of my ‘uncontrollable temper.’ The opposite, really.”

“Take up yoga.”

“Captain…”

Levi huffs in amusement. “Take a break. Go somewhere and breathe by a creek or some shit.”

“Go somewhere?” When Eren next speaks, there’s a far-away look in his eyes and his voice has gone softer. “Actually, more and more lately I’ve been remembering that forest— the one Reinier and Bertholdt took me and Ymir to. It was a beautiful forest. I can still smell the pine— and the scent of my singing flesh from where they cut off my limbs.” Levi conceals a wince. “I’d love to go back there someday.”

He raises a brow. “Why?”

“Because...” Eren’s head lolls to the side to face Levi. His eyes are round, unseeing saucers. They pierce Levi, see past him, gaze fixed on something not there in the room with them. “I want to hang Reinier and Bertholdt from the tree they bled me out on.”

An icy breeze tickles down Levi’s back, raising goose pimples along his spine. Out of curiosity, he turns and looks to the window. It’s closed. 

He doesn’t reply. Levi watches Eren’s expression, until after several minutes, life has crept back into the boy’s face, and he looks up with a blink, focusing on Levi hazily. 

“I…” Eren shakes his head. “Nevermind. Forget all that. There was something else I wanted to tell you.”

Levi raises a single brow. “What’s that?”

Eren stands. He’s only a breath away, and from up close, Levi can more accurately read the tells on Eren’s face: the indigo bags under his drooping eyes, the gray pallor, the slight downturn of his lips. He’s suffering. From what?

“I think it might be a while until our next visit, captain,” Eren says quietly.

“If you’re going to be busy tomorrow night, you can drop in during the day.”

A sweet smile. “Thank you, but that’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean, then?”

He doesn’t answer. “Since this is goodbye, would you do me a favor?”

“Eren, what is going—” 

“Please, captain Levi.”

Levi purses his mouth. “Fine. What?”

Eren sticks out his hand in the short space between them. “Promise to believe in me.”

Levi stares at the offending appendage like it’s covered in manure. “What the hell. What are you being so cryptic about?” 

The boy shifts, refusing to meet Levi’s eyes. His hand remains firmly up. “I have a feeling things are going to get messy. And it’ll be confusing— it might not seem confusing; it might seem painfully clear— but I’m asking you to trust me through it all, sir.”

A heavy, gritty feeling settles in the pit of Levi’s gut like a stone. Something caught between dread and terror crawls up his throat and leaves a bitter after taste in his mouth. His skin itches. He looks between Eren’s hand and the boy’s face. 

Before he can shake it, a knock so hard it rattles the room sounds from the door. Eren jumps out of his skin and Levi’s head whips to the side.

“Levi?”

It’s the commander. He doesn’t sound pleased.

Levi turns to look at Eren, whose eyes have gone wide. Gnawing his lip, Eren glances between the door and the captain. He lets out a shaky exhale.

“Should probably get that, huh?” Eren says under his breath.

Staring at him in silence for a moment longer, Levi finally pushes off the desk and strides across the room. He opens the door and is greeted by the sight of Erwin’s rigid face. Lovely.

“Good evening, Levi,” Erwin says. His gaze trails over the man’s shoulder and into the room. “You have a guest.”

“Yes. And we were actually in the middle of something, Erwin, so if you wouldn’t mind seeing yourself o—”

“I was just leaving,” Eren interrupts. Levi stiffens. He hears hurried shuffling and then the boy is beside him, saluting the commander while not meeting his eyes.

“Hey, settle down,” Levi says. “You don’t have to—”

“That’s actually a good idea,” says Erwin. “It’s late. You should be back in your own quarters.”

Levi does an excellent job of suppressing the sudden urge to twist one of Erwin’s arms until something pops out of place, but he can’t hold back the scowl. Erwin ignores it easily, as he always does, instead staring heavily at the boy between them. Levi sighs.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Eren,” he says.

Eren falters, and spares a look to the captain. His tired eyes trail over Levi’s face, before finally meeting his gaze. He gives the man a small, sad smile.

“Goodnight, Levi.”

“Goodnight.”

Then he’s gone, brushing past Erwin into the dark hall, quick steps ricocheting down the bricked corridor. Levi listens to him until he’s gone, then turns and heads towards his desk. He hears Erwin close the door behind him. It’s just the two of them now.

“I’m not finished with that report you wanted, if that’s what you’re here for,” Levi says. He settles into his chair, wishing he had another cup of tea right now.

Erwin remains standing a foot from the desk. He offers Levi a cordial smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “No worries.”

“Well? Then why are you here? And cut to the chase, please. I’d like to go to bed some time tonight.” 

Erwin knows him too well, knows that the snippier Levi is, the more nervous. He seems to languish in the fact, as he takes his careful time before bothering with a response. “Is he always in your room this late?” he asks.

Levi’s heart stumbles over a beat or two. “Eren?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Erwin folds his arms behind his back, smile still perfectly in place. “Simply curious.”

Levi wants no part in whatever game Erwin is playing, but has a feeling it’s not up to him if he can join or not. “He drops by occasionally.”

“Hm. And you two are always alone?”

“You mean like you and I are right now?”

 _Easy_ , Erwin’s eyes seem to glitter. It makes Levi’s blood boil. “I suppose. But it’s different in his case, isn’t it? He’s your subordinate.”

Levi bares his teeth. “Don’t you dare try and give me any shit about how it’s ‘inappropriate’, Erwin. You know damn well that’s not what this is.”

Erwin raises his hands in faux surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Levi.”

“Then what _are_ you dreaming of, if it’s not wild fantasies about me abusing my power with some cadet?”

“Not much. I’ve been sleeping soundly these days. What about Eren? Has he been sleeping well?”

That actually throws Levi off guard. “I’m sure he’s sleeping like a fucking baby on that metal prison bed.”

“Yes, the dungeon. It can’t be comfortable. In fact, it’s well overdue to move him into the dorms with the other soldiers.”

Levi sits up straight.

Erwin continues. “It’s been over a month since we rescued him, many more since I or any of the others have felt any concern over Eren losing control of his titan form in his sleep. I don’t see a reason we keep him locked up at night anymore. What do you think?”

With blood thundering in his ears, Levi grips the armrests of his chair until the wood creaks. “I think if you actually thought Eren wasn’t a threat to the castle, you’d be down there fetching him yourself instead of asking me pointless, hypothetical questions, Erwin.”

Ah, but of course the commander’s gentle demeanor doesn’t so much as crack at having been found out. “I’m not testing you, Levi. There’s no need to raise your hackles.”

He scoffs, but leans back. “Since when is anything you do not for ten ulterior motives?”

“Fine. I’ll stop wasting your time. I’d heard that Eren had been spending a considerable amount of time with you lately, and I wanted to see what that was all about.”

Levi takes a moment to be thankful for the fact that he doesn’t perspire easily, because he thinks he might’ve started sweating if he was a lesser man. And for no good reason, either. It’s not as if it’s against the rules for Eren to visit Levi’s room. There’s nothing wrong with a subordinate bonding with their squad leader. Levi hasn’t done anything wrong. But under Erwin’s hawk-like gaze, it feels like he’s been caught red-handed. 

“Yes, Jaeger has been around more often,” Levi eventually confesses. “After we got him back from Reinier and Bertholdt, he needed someone to vent to about shit. So, sometimes after dinner, I let him park his scrawny behind in that chair and prattle away while I power through some paperwork.” He shrugs, making sure the motion is loose and easy. “I don’t particularly mind, and it seems to be helping the kid deal with all that suppressed rage.”

Levi looks up, and his stomach grows heavy with lead at the look in Erwin’s eyes. That stare has never meant anything good for the person on the other end of it.

“Interesting,” Erwin says cooly. He mechanically twitches his mouth into a teasing half-smile. “You’re awfully talkative tonight, Levi. Maybe Eren has rubbed off on you?”

Something about the inflection of his voice makes Levi question the sure-to-be-there double entendre of Erwin’s question, but, at having no clue what it could be, he warily replies. “Yeah. Maybe he has.”

Erwin leaves shortly after that, leaving Levi in the quiet of his room with only his thoughts to occupy the lonesome silence. He almost considers going down to fetch Eren and finish up their earlier conversation, but decides against it. As curious as he is to find out what the boy had meant, he’s just as sure that Erwin will have guards stationed around to inform him if Levi does such a thing. Levi doesn’t know where the man’s getting at, but if Erwin’s keeping something a secret, there’s no point in trying to find out. He leaves it at that, and makes a mental reminder to find Eren before breakfast and corner him then. 

The hours pass, the days shift, and it’s no longer a simple yet stifling Tuesday evening. It’s Wednesday morning.

And everything goes to hell.

Between slumber and wakefulness is a split second, and when Levi springs up from his bed, it’s to to the sound of gut-curdling screaming and falling bricks. He jumps to his feet and is almost immediately knocked down by a sudden lurch in the building. Levi is strapping on his uniform and maneuver gear before he’s blinked the sleep from his eyes. A feral, air-shattering roar shakes the room and rattles deep in Levi’s bones— so familiar, yet it takes Levi several seconds to process what he’s hearing, and when he does, ice runs through his veins and he nearly loses hold of the blades in his hands. He jumps over to the window, opens the shutters, and sticks his head out, peering for the source of the noise with denial on a loop track in the back of his mind. 

Levi sees him; the titan attacking their fortress. He recognizes the monster instantly.

It’s Eren.

Levi doesn’t know how long he stays frozen at the window, watching the titan tear down turrets and hurl the brick pieces down at their comrades, but he’s shaken out of his horrified stupor by Erwin’s voice ringing through the castle, reaching him even through the walls.

“Soldiers! The titan attacking the fortress is Eren Jaeger; a traitor to the corps and mankind who is working with the enemy titans to take down the walls. Your new objective is to bring him down by any and all means. We kill him here!”

Levi feels the ground fall out under him at that, and when he looks down and sees the cavernous crack between his feet, he realizes the floor is literally collapsing under him.

He goes down with it as Eren lets out another earth-shuddering bellow outside.


	2. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi falls. The aftermath is just as pretty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can't tell by this chapter, I'm not a fan of Erwin.

He’s falling.

Levi’s aware of the fact. He knows that he’s falling and that the castle is crumbling down around him and that if he doesn’t act _right now_ , he’s going to die. He knows this.

But why can’t he make his body do anything about it?

The air whizzes past him as he falls through story by story. His stomach is somewhere in his throat. His limbs are as limp as a rag doll’s. Levi blinks at what used to be a wall— no, that’s a ceiling, he’s upside down— but all that’s left of it is pieces of brick and wood that are hurdling to the ground with him. He’s not sure if the sound rushing in his ears is the wind, his heart beat, or the screams of his crushed comrades and the titan outside.

A flying piece of debris strikes his shoulder and Levi gasps like a drowning man, coming to his senses all at once.

He grabs hold of his pistons and fires the grappling hooks, ignoring the lightening-hot bolt of pain the movement sends through his shoulder. The first hook is knocked to the side by falling debris, but the second one makes its mark and latches onto the floorboard above. Levi shouts a curse as he’s suddenly jolted to a halt in his descent. The rubble around him creates a dust cloud so thick he can barely breathe, let alone see, and Levi simply hopes for the best as he activates the gas and is yanked up the wire.

He clutches onto the floorboard and pulls himself up with one arm— fuck, his right is done for. It must’ve been a brick that smashed into his shoulder. Gritting his teeth, Levi gets to his feet and surveys the damage. He has no idea what room this used to be, or even what floor he’s on, but he spots a door in the farthest corner and hurries out into the hallway. There’s another crash from outside that makes the building shake, and Levi holds onto the doorframe for dear life. His brain is abuzz with white noise. He can’t form a single thought other than _don’t get crushed and die._

“Levi!”

He whips his head up to see Hange running towards him, sidestepping piles of wreckage and a few moaning bodies.

“Thank god,” she says. Her face is dirtied with soot. “What the hell is going on?”

Good question, Levi thinks. He hasn’t a clue himself, but he relays what he saw. “Eren transformed into his titan. He’s outside. He’s…” The words feel wrong in his mouth. “He’s destroying the castle.”

Even under all the dirt, her face goes pale. “...What? Eren?” She shakes her head with a laugh that is inappropriately bright for the situation. Actually, Levi thinks it might be a twinge hysterical. “You’re wrong.”

He wants to be. He thinks he should be feeling something right about now, like confused— or hurt. But Levi feels nothing. Nothing but a sharp ache in his arm that pulses in time with his heart beat and a burn in his lungs. He shrugs his good shoulder.

Hange stares at him for a second longer, than she’s pushing past him and sprinting down the hall. Levi follows her with a grunt, and they head down the stone stairs, running into panicked cadets who try to flee or get in their way with the same frenzied questions. They ignore them.

Hange runs out of the castle first. Levi sees her crane her head around looking for the titan, and when she does, her jaw falls. Levi’s gut twinges with dread, but he’s far too numb for it to even make him falter. He hastens to her side, and without a pause, follows her gaze.

There he is. There’s Eren.

Seeing him up close makes the reality of the situation finally settle in for Levi. Actually, it’s more like reality punches him in the face and sends him soaring across the field. As Levi watches Eren migrate towards the other side of the castle, roaring and tearing the building down piece by piece, he begins to feel something. It starts low in his belly; a trickling of cold that drips through his veins and freezes each of his limbs. His knees lock, his legs still, his fingers stiffen at his side. It stalls his lungs next, stealing his breath and even stopping his heart. Levi blinks hard to clear the grime from his eyes, and when he opens them he almost expects the sight before him to disappear, like it was just the shadows in the dust cloud playing tricks on him— that it’s not actually Eren he’s seeing. There’s no way it could be his subordinate, his friend, the boy he’s let sneak into his room every night for the past month and has gotten to know better than the back of his hand. It couldn’t be Eren doing this to them— to him. There’s no way.

But Levi opens his eyes, and there is no denying who it is that’s reigning hell down around him and everything he loves. 

The feeling that engulfs Levi’s entire form makes him wish the numbness would return.

Hange grabs onto his elbow with a crushing grip. “Oh no.”

A dozen soldiers emerge from the ruins of the fortress, strapped in their gear and with their sights locked on Eren. Levi hisses a breath through his clenched teeth as three men fire their grappling hooks at Eren’s shoulder and pull themselves up. Not quick enough— Eren cranes his neck and spots them flying towards him, blades drawn. He raises his arm, fist pulled back.

_Please, please no._

But Eren doesn’t catch them in his hand and squeeze the life out of them in a burst of blood and guts that Levi can hear already. Instead, he ducks— _ducks—_ and when the soldiers soar over their mark while shouting in confusion, Eren sweeps their hooks out of his shoulder like he’s merely brushing off a speck of dirt. They go flying and catch themselves on the remains of the roof, not a scratch on their heads.

Levi’s jaw falls with a pop.

Someone’s booming voice shouts across the field: Erwin, though Levi can’t see him. He misses most of what the man says, but hears him yell “Attack!” as clear as day. Eren hears it, too, because he freezes in kicking a hole through the castle and turns to look Levi’s way.

He knows it’s impossible, but Levi swears their eyes meet.

Before Erwin and the others can get a jump on the titan and make for another swing, Eren breaks away and sprints down the valley, staying clear of the trees and not looking back. He’s almost out of sight before Levi snaps free from his stupor. He grabs his pistons and makes to chase after Eren, but Hange lunges forward and holds him back.

“Get the fuck off of me, four-eyes!”

“Stop, Levi!” Her grip is like iron, but Levi is fighting so hard that she struggles to keep him down. “Stop! He’s gone! You won’t catch up.”

“Not if you’re slowing me down, I won’t!”

She turns him around and slaps him across the face. Levi’s neck cracks with the force of it, cheek blazing with heat. He slowly twists his head back around to pierce her with a stare that has made grown men break down in tears before, but Hange doesn’t even flinch.

“Listen to me, Levi,” she says lowly. Around them, soldiers are scurrying like ants trying to put out the few fires that have started and carry out the injured from the castle. There’s screaming and muffled groaning and Levi thinks he can feel the ground shake with the _boom, boom, boom_ of Eren’s fleeing steps. Hange shakes him by the shoulders and his attention snaps back to her. “Now is not the time to let your emotions take over. Get your shit together. Eren’s gone, the castle is in literal flames, and we need to save whoever’s still in there. Do you understand me, _captain?_ ”

Fuck. Fucking hell. Eren’s footsteps are growing further away. Levi’s losing him.

A scream pierces the air and Levi whips around to look. Two soldiers are dragging a girl out from a break in the walls. She’s completely drenched in blood. Her leg is missing.

Levi bites the inside of his cheek until he tastes copper. He sighs. “Get your hand off my shoulder, shit-for-brains. I think it’s fractured.”

She lets go like it burns her and Levi stashes his blades away. They meet eyes. Hange nods at him. They jog back into the castle.

The dust has settled, revealing through a screen of blood and wreckage the remains of the fortress. There’s people stumbling, crawling, even collapsed on the ground, but Levi doesn’t see any still bodies. He doesn’t hold his breath, however. He and Hange climb the stairs, combing through each floor and helping pull people out from crushed furniture and under fallen brick facade. Levi keeps a running count of everyone he encounters. Ten...twenty...thirty...he wonders if the other side of the building faced as much damage as they did.

A familiar, frantic voice drifts from another room. Levi and Hange peer in and see Mikasa on the ground, clutching her head, Armin kneeled beside her.

“Are you two alright?” Hange says.

“I’m okay,” Armin answers. “Mikasa hit her head, I don’t know if she has a concussion or not.”

“I’m fine, I can stand,” Mikasa says, swatting his fretting hands away. She looks up at the adults. “Have you seen Eren?”

Levi’s stomach falls. Hange glances back at him, eyebrows raised in silent question. He fixes his features. “Yes, I saw him.”

Relief paints Mikasa’s expression. “Thank god. Is he okay?”

“He’s not injured, don’t worry. If you can walk, let’s get out of here. Who knows how much longer this place can stand.”

They do. Mikasa insists she’s perfectly fine, but sways even with Armin at her side guiding her down the hall. They don’t ask any further questions, which Levi takes as a small mercy. Hange keeps trying to meet his eyes, but he avoids her easily.

When they leave the castle they find that everyone has gathered at the field. Levi is shocked at the sheer number of them. He can’t headcount them all, but by the looks of it there seems to be only a minimal amount of casualties— if any.

“Jesus,” Hange says. “Is this everybody?”

“I’m sure we got them all out.”

“No, I mean, is this _everybody?_ Is _anyone_ even missing?”

He blinks at her, then scans over the field. Sheer number aside, Levi estimates less than half are injured; a quarter of that seriously displaced. It makes no sense, especially considering the damage Eren inflicted on the building. “We’ll have to do an official count later, but you’re right. It looks like there aren’t any dead.”

Several voices call out Mikasa and Armin’s names, and they turn to see Jean, Connie, Sasha, and Historia waving them over. Thankful for the pardon, Levi shoos them away, hoping they fill the two in on what happened. He doesn’t have it in him.

At the head of the crowd, Erwin stands on a pile of fallen bricks and commands them all to be silent. 

“Attention, troops!”

The soldiers fire at him immediately.

“What the hell is happening?!”

“Was that really Eren Jaeger?”

“Why aren’t we chasing him?!”

“Quiet!” Erwin yells. They obey. “We don’t have much time to act. Listen carefully: Eren Jaeger, the titan-shifter as you’re all aware, is a traitor to man-kind. I’ve had reason to believe that he was conspiring with the other titan-shifters Reiner Braus and Bertholdt Hoover from the beginning and even staged his own abduction. It is my fault and mine alone that he rampaged on the Corps today— if I hadn’t hesitated, the Military Police would have been here in two day’s time to execute him.”

A bolt of electricity strikes through Levi’s body. 

“What’s done is done,” Erwin continues over the disbelieving whispers surfing the crowd. “We will count our dead, heal our injured, and wait for the Military Police and the Garrison to deliver horses and supplies. Once they do, we are going to set out and hunt Eren Jaeger. We are going to make sure he pays for his crimes against the Corps and humanity. No longer will we let those monsters rule over us, murder us, pretend to be our comrades and stab us in the back the minute we turn them. Listen to me well, soldiers. I know you’re angry— good. We’re going to use this anger to finally turn the tide on the enemy. This is not a loss for humanity; this is a stepping stone to putting an end to the titans reign of terror once and for all. We will stop at nothing to kill every last one of them: starting with Eren Jaeger.”

The following roar of applause is deafening. It pierces Levi’s head like a sword and he doubles over with a groan, covering his ears and closing his eyes shut. The ground is shaking. That, or the pounding migraine squeezing his brain into mush makes Levi nearly lose his stomach. 

“Oh man, please don’t tell me you’re going to vomit.”

“Shut the hell up, Hange,” Levi grunts. 

He feels rather than sees her squat next to him. Her voice is gentler this time. “I know it hurts. But you have to bear it.”

“It’s just a migraine— ugh, god— give me a second. I’ll be fine.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

He opens his eyes and squints at her. Her stare is unwavering, and suddenly Levi feels flayed open and naked before her. He looks away first.

“Levi. Hange.”

They turn up at Erwin in front of them. Hange helps Levi up, minding his bad shoulder this time.

“Are you both uninjured?” Erwin asks.

“I’m good. Levi hurt his shoulder, though. A fracture, probably.”

Erwin scrutinizes Levi then, eyeing him up and down like he could possibly be faking it. The thought makes Levi scowl.

“Can you use it?” Erwin asks idly.

“Course.”

Hange looks disapproving at that, but Erwin interrupts. 

“Good: you’ll need to.” Erwin steps forward and claps a hand on Levi’s uninjured arm, but it jostles him hard enough to send a flash of pain through his other shoulder. Levi hides his wince well, but he knows Erwin sees it. Damn him. “I’m putting you and your squad at the head of our operation to kill Eren.”

Levi’s never flinched away from anything in his life before, but he very nearly does at the order. “Excuse me?”

“You and Eren’s friends know him best. You’re our only shot at figuring out what he’s going to do and how to catch him.” Erwin levels him with a stern gaze, one that leaves no room for argument. Levi hates, _hates_ being shoved into a corner like this, and Erwin knows it. “Tell me you understand what I’m asking of you, Levi.”

Levi doesn’t blink, doesn’t breathe, doesn’t move a muscle. He’s deathly still when he says, “No, I don’t understand, Erwin. How the fuck do you think asking Eren’s friends to kill him will go over? Do you think his sister is just going to roll over and obey?” _Do you think his captain will?_ Levi doesn’t smack Erwin’s arm away, merely pushes it off, and he mentally commends himself for such a great show of self-control. Because what he feels like doing right then is ripping the limb straight out of the man’s socket. “I get that an order is an order, _commander,_ but I don’t have a single clue where this one is coming from. You said you had your suspicions that Eren was working with Reinier and Bertholdt the whole time. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Even though Levi is fully aware of the fact that the pleasant exterior Erwin usually dons is a facade, it always unsettles him to see that mask lift, and to be faced with the full brunt force of what lies underneath.

“Because, to put it simply,” Erwin says coldly, “I was sure that _you_ were helping him.”

It feels like somebody’s punched the breath out of him. “What?” Levi rasps.

“You. Mikasa, Armin, the whole lot of them. I was sure you were all in cohorts with him; it’d explain a lot. Of course, I don’t believe that anymore. Eren abandoned you all— he could’ve killed you, knowing you guys were still in the building. Forgive me, Levi, but what else was I to think when you and the boy were locked in your room alone for hours day after day? Not to mention, the relationship you have with Eren Jaeger is not in the least bit unbiased. And I know better than to trust any of his friends— Reinier and Bertholdt were his friends as well.”

A rumbling starts in Levi’s ears. It grows louder and louder in volume, and for a moment he thinks Eren has returned, that he’s tearing the rest of the castle down and what he’s hearing are the bricks and wood cascading around them like bullets. But it’s not the sound of destruction: it’s his own ragged breathing. He sounds like an animal being put to slaughter. His pulse is right there with it thundering under his skin. Levi takes a step back— for Erwin’s protection, not his. He digs his nails into his palms so he won’t reach for his blades and drive one deep into the commander’s belly. 

“You…” Levi says gravelly, face turned to the dirt. “You chose not to trust me...and to punish me for your mistake, you’re forcing me to _kill_ my own squadmate?”

“Watch it,” Erwin says.

“No. If you knew Eren was a threat, you should’ve done something about it before he went berserk. If anyone here dies today, tomorrow, or the day after that—” Levi steps forward and jabs his finger into Erwin’s chest. “That is on you.”

“ _Levi,_ ” Hange hisses from the side.

Erwin grabs his finger and pulls it back. Levi doesn’t flinch. “It is not on my conscious if Eren kills anybody.”

“It should be.” An unhinged, hysterical breath of laughter escapes Levi. Images of a darling redhead and a sweet blonde flash across his mind, and that’s it. Levi loses it. “You’re doing it again. You’re doing it again! You’re still playing games and taking bets on people’s lives like we’re fucking chess pieces and not human beings. First it was Isabel and Farlan, now Eren? How many more of my people are you going to string along and let die so _you_ can prove your stupid, fucking points—!”

Erwin pulls his arm back and swings, and Levi’s vision is so red he doesn’t even see it before it’s too late. One second he’s on his feet, and the next he’s sprawled on the grass, blood in his mouth and his jaw hanging at an unnatural angle. Fuck, fuck, _fuck!_

The man kneels in front of Levi and grabs his face. Erwin pops Levi’s jaw back into place in a single swift motion. He doesn’t let go. “Listen to me, Levi. Isabel and Farlan made the choice to come on that expedition to try and kill me. Eren made the choice to betray us all and attack the castle today. The fact that I knew what their intent was does not make me responsible for their actions, and therefore the consequences.”

Levi spits a wad of blood at him, but it misses his face. “You’re responsible because you didn’t do anything to stop them.”

Fingers dig into the spot between his jaw and his teeth. “Then that makes you responsible for not stopping Isabel and Farlan from coming, and it makes you responsible for not stopping Eren before he was too far gone.”

The air escapes Levi’s lungs.

Erwin drops him and stands, towering over him. “You are humanity’s strongest soldier, Levi, but you still have a weakness: your heart. I’ll tell you again what I did back then: don’t let regret get in your way.” He sticks his hand down. “Do you understand what you have to do now?”

Levi stares up at Erwin’s outstretched hand.

Then he remembers.

He remembers the look on Eren’s face the night before as he stood close, worrying his lip but eyes still shining with that fierce determination that never seemed to falter. Eren had stuck his hand out in the space between them, and he asked Levi to do him a favor.

_Promise to believe in me._

Levi didn’t get to answer him then. He answers him now.

“Yeah,” he says. “I do.”

He accepts Erwin’s hand and is pulled to his feet. Erwin nods at him.

“Good. I put my faith in you then, Levi.”

He leaves, and Levi watches his back until he’s lost in the thick of the crowd. Everything aches, but Levi pays it no mind.

Hange is there by his side. “I won’t insult you by asking you if you’re alright,” she says, “but are you alright?”

Levi nods. “Yes.”

“Oh, good. Then what the _fuck_ is wrong with you?”

He turns to her. She sees something in his eyes that makes her straighten and lean away.

“Nothing. At least, not anymore.”

He turns and head towards his squad, and doesn’t need to look back to know Hange is following him. Levi feels grounded. His heartbeat has settled, and the crashing in his ears has settled to a gentle trickle. He knows what he has to do. He knows who he’s doing it for.

When he gets to the group of teens he steels himself. There’s an entire range of emotions across their faces, and Levi feels each and every one intimately.

Connie spots him first. “Captain! Is it true? Was it really Eren who attacked us?”

“I told you I saw it, idiot,” Sasha snaps at him. Her eyes are red. “There’s not a whole lot of other titans that look like that wandering around, is there?”

They still turn to Levi for confirmation. “It was Eren.”

He can nearly see the physical weight of that information sagging down on their shoulders. Jean runs a hand through his hair and laughs, staring at a spot between his shoes. “Wow. Fuck. Of all the things I’d expect from that asshole, this was not one of them.”

Historia is wringing the front of her uniform in her hands. “So...Eren’s really a traitor? He’s been lying to us this whole time, like Ymir was?”

“No.”

They all look to Mikasa, who’d been shrinking into herself in silence the whole time with an empty expression. She glances up, but there’s a far-away look in her eyes that makes it clear she’s somewhere else. “No,” she repeats. “Eren wouldn’t do this to us.”

Jean cringes. “Mikasa, I know it’s hard to believe, but it was him. It definitely was.”

She shakes her head. “No. Eren is my family. I know him better than I know myself, and he wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t betray us. There has...there has to be another reason.”

Armin, who’s had an arm wrapped around her, winces and drops his head. They all avoid each other’s eyes, privately stewing in a sick mixture of grief and fury. Levi clears his throat.

“I agree with Mikasa.”

They snap their necks to gawk at him. Mikasa’s eyes grow round.

“Captain?” Armin says.

“I don’t think Eren is working with Reinier and Bertholdt. Whatever his reason was for attacking us here today...I don’t think it’s because he’s a traitor. Look around you.” He gestures across the field to the hundreds of milling soldiers. “The castle is in ruins, but nobody was killed. I saw it myself. Three soldiers went in for the attack and instead of murdering them, Eren went out of his way to make sure they weren’t hurt.”

“Really?” Connie says quietly.

Levi nods. “There’s something else. Last night, Eren came to me and asked me to trust him. He said things were going to get messy. He didn’t explain himself, but he told me to believe in him.” Levi heaves a sigh. Moment of truth. “I do.”

Sasha gapes at him. “Captain, are you serious?”

“Very.”

“I believe in Eren, too,” Armin cuts in. His face is screwed tight like he’s trying not to cry, but he lifts his head up high nonetheless. Mikasa squeezes his hand.

“So do I,” Connie says. “It doesn’t make sense for Eren of all people to be trying to take down the walls.”

“I agree,” Historia says. She purses her lips. “I don’t think he or Ymir would plot against us like that— even if everything points to the opposite.”

Jean shifts uncomfortably. “Well, so what? What are we supposed to do? You guys heard the commander— they’re going to kill Eren.”

“Actually,” Levi says. “We are.”

Sasha stares at him. “What?”

“Erwin’s put us in charge of heading the operation. He says we know Eren best. We’ll be the ones to put him down.”

Mikasa is already struggling in Armin’s hold. “No! He’s not a traitor. We have to—”

“Mikasa,” Hange says, squeezing her shoulder. “Look at your captain. He _believes_ in Eren. Have some faith in Levi, too.”

After a moment, the girl settles down. Levi catches Hange’s eyes and nods slightly. He turns his attention back to his squad.

“I’m your captain,” Levi starts, “and you are all to follow my orders. But...I’m not sure that my call is going to be the right one. And it’s not fair of me to ask you to go directly against Erwin and the Military Police. So, I’m giving you an out. This is it. If you’re not ready to risk your lives on what’s little more than a gut feeling— I understand.”

Jean, Connie, Sasha, Armin, Mikasa, and Historia exchange glances. Levi’s words hang heavily in the air over their heads. It’s tense and quiet for all of ten seconds, then they turn to him one by one, standing straight and thumping their fists over their chest in a rigid salute. Levi’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline.

“You haven’t let us down before, captain,” Armin says, speaking for the bunch. “So give us your order. We’ll lay down our lives to follow it.”

Levi blinks. He looks at them all, to Hange, who smiles at him before saluting him herself. Levi lets out a soft huff of disbelief.

“I should’ve known you brats were a stubborn bunch.” He can’t help the hint of a smile that creeps onto his face. “Alright. Your order is to give Eren the benefit of the doubt. We are going to find that problem child and get to the truth, no matter what it costs. Do I make myself clear?”

“ _Sir, yes sir!_ ”

Something warm begins to blossom in Levi’s chest as he looks at his squad. He’s proud of them. Levi promises to himself that he won’t let them down. He won’t make them regret believing in him.

He hopes he can say the same about believing in Eren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! I'm getting more and more excited for this fic. Levi is so complex, and it makes me sad when sometimes the fandom portrays him as a mindless soldier with an unwavering devotion to Erwin and the Corps. To me, especially after watching the No Regrets ova, Levi is loyal to his heart. Also, Hange and the new Levi Squad are the best.
> 
> Don't worry! Eren's POV and more Ereri moments are coming soon, bear with me!


	3. Shiganshina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Corps head to Shiganshina to search for a rogue Eren, but end up finding more than they were looking for.

Levi’s all but forgotten the ache in his jaw and the splintering throb in his shoulder until somebody points it out, and then it’s the _only_ thing he can think about.

“Captain,” a soft voice calls from behind. He’s taken a spot on the grass away from the commotion, watching smoke rise from the rubble of the castle as the able-bodied soldiers pick their way inside, foraging what they can. Levi turns.

Mikasa is standing there with her usual blank expression and her arms hanging loosely by her side. The only crack in her perfect demeanor is her white-knuckled grip on a roll of bandages. 

“Your shoulder,” she says simply.

Levi stares as she kneels in front of him wordlessly. She wonders how she knows; it’s not like he’s letting it show. When she unwraps the bandages and sling and moves to shove his coat off, he stops her with a hand. “It’s fine, I can do it. You probably have a concussion.”

She doesn’t glare at him, but Levi can tell that she wants to. “I don’t.” She pulls the jacket off of him a touch rougher than truly necessary. Levi snorts.

“You’re right; you’ve got a hard head. I shouldn’t worry.”

Levi sits patiently and doesn’t wince when Mikasa begins wrapping his injured shoulder and strapping him in a makeshift sling. They don’t exchange words. Levi watches over her tucked head at everyone around them. There are maybe two dozen soldiers sprawled on the ground, clutching their bleeding sides and limbs twisted at strange angles. The rest are up on their feet, tending to the wounded, doing headcounts, bringing supplies out from the castle, or shining their blades.

“Is your jaw alright?”

Levi snaps his attention back to her. She’s finished his arm and is sitting back on the balls of her feet, watching him carefully. He brings a hand up to cradle his cheek.

“Is it bruising already?” he asks.

“No,” she says, “I saw the commander hit you.” Levi doesn’t think his face changes, but she amends anyways. “Nobody else did, sir.”

He grunts. “Well fucking goodie.” 

Mikasa rocks back on her heels slightly. She tugs on a piece of her scarf, drawing Levi’s eyes with the action. “What did you say to make him hit you?”

The way she phrases the question raises his hackles, but he shoves down the brief flare in temper. He’s not mad at her, he really isn't. He’s just _mad_. Lava floods through his veins and thrums right below his skin, hot enough to make him feel like he’s about to blow. He doesn’t know how Eren manages to stay enraged at constant hours of the day like this. Levi’s chest gives an uncomfortable squeeze.

“I...was out of line,” he says, fighting back a grimace. “I accused Erwin of not taking Eren’s life or the situation seriously. I shouldn’t have said it.”

Mikasa stops fidgeting with her scarf. “Because you were wrong?”

“Because it’s not my place to question Erwin’s motives.”

“That’s not a _no,_ captain.”

He meets her eyes. “I know it’s not, Ackerman.”

Her mouth parts ever so slightly. She seeks for something in Levi’s expression, maybe a hint of dishonesty, but whatever it is she doesn’t find it. She stands up and salutes him. “Thank you.”

“What for?”

“For having faith in Eren.”

Levi’s mouth feels dry. “I wouldn’t trust your brother if he didn’t deserve it.” He sees Hange approaching, looking quizzically between the two, and he clears his throat. “Go and see if any of the others need medical attention.”

Nodding, she hurries away. Hange watches her leave, arms crossed over her chest.

“Well, what do you know. Mikasa can show you a little respect without looking constipated.”

“She looked a _little_ constipated,” Levi says, hurriedly changing the topic before Hange pries further. “What’s the situation?”

“We finished the count.” She takes a seat next to him, drawing her legs up. “It’s like we thought: no fatalities.”

He lets out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding.

“Though the castle is beyond saving,” Hange continues. “It’s a miracle more people aren’t hurt.”

“I don’t think it was a miracle, I think Eren knew what he was doing.”

“Yeah? What could he possibly gain from attacking the Corps? And so publicly.”

Levi shrugs. He hasn’t a single clue. Eren is more of a mystery to him than he originally thought. It’s a disappointing realization. “I don’t know. But if Eren wanted to kill us, we’d be dead. Most of us, anyways.”

She hums. “He sure doesn’t want us following him, at least. He took out all the horses. Erwin says it’s going to take days to reach the nearest town and get the MP to send out supplies. At least it’ll give us time to figure out what we’re going to do about Eren.” Hange spares him a glance from the corner of her eyes. “You _do_ know what you’re going to do...right?”

Levi scrubs a hand over his face. Fuck, everything hurts. Not just the fractured shoulder or dislocated jaw, but Levi’s entire body is aching with bruises from the fall down the tower. He knows it’ll only get worse— the restriction in his chest he can’t pinpoint doesn’t help, either.

“I’m going to wait Eren out,” he says tonelessly. “I don’t know why he’s doing this, but there has to be more to it than him suddenly turning on us, or—” _or, worse, having been a traitor the entire time._ The idea smarts like a stab. “Whatever. I’m going to find the brat and force the truth out of him, and then deal with the consequences. Until then, it’s just a matter of making sure Erwin doesn’t kill the kid on sight.”

Hange stares at him for several long, uncomfortable seconds. Then, “You trust Eren that much?”

“I do.”

She makes a strange sound in the back of her throat. “Why?”

_Because I promised him I would,_ doesn’t seem sufficient enough— but it’s the truth. Levi wouldn’t have agreed if he didn’t have full faith in Eren. And maybe...maybe that decision will come back to haunt him. But it’s Eren Jaeger they’re talking about: the boy with passion dancing behind emerald irises; who’s risked his life time and time again for humanity; who’s put his own trust in Levi. The very least he can do is reciprocate. 

“Because I know him, Hange.”

If anything, Hange grows more confused. She waits, but when he doesn’t explain further, she scoffs. “Levi. Come on.”

“What?”

“I know.”

Those two words send tendrils of dread trickling through him. His face feel numb. “Know what?”

They lock eyes. Levi refuses to back down. Hange knows a loss when she sees one, and after a pout that makes him seriously uncomfortable— and feel like he’s been caught doing something wrong— she looks away. 

“Nothing,” she says quietly. She picks herself up. “Fine. I trust your judgement. I’ll place my trust in Eren, too.”

He looks at his shoes. “Thanks.”

“Alright. Schematics, then. Erwin said once the MP get here with horses, we’re heading for Shiganshina.”

“Shiganshina? He thinks that’s where Eren will go?”

“It’s as good of a guess as any. Some of the Scouts saw Eren head in that general direction, and Erwin is convinced it’s where he’ll regroup with Reinier and Bertholdt. What do you think?”

“I don’t _think_ he’s meeting up with those two.” It’s hard to understand where Eren could be heading when they don’t know his motives. Levi can’t picture Eren heading back there of all places in anycase. There wasn’t a spot in particular Eren had fixated on— besides that damn ocean he liked to yammer on about. Levi guesses Eren might head for open land...no, even in titan form, that’s too risky. Fine, somewhere with places to hide; valleys, forests, mountains— 

The forest. Levi suddenly recalls a conversation about the smell of pine mingling with singed flesh and a spark of ferocious, murderous intent. 

Hange notices him still. “What is it?”

“It’s…” No. Eren wouldn’t retreat there, he has no reason to: he doesn’t have Reinier and Bertholdt to skin and hang from the tree branches yet. “It’s nothing.”

She doesn’t believe him, but Hange doesn’t push for once. It’s a very weird day. “Sure. So Shiganshina. Let’s say for argument’s sake that we do find Eren there—”

“Not going to happen.”

“Shush and let me finish. If we find him, you do know what Erwin will try to make you do. What he’s _ordered_ you to do. How are you going to get around that?”

Levi stares straight ahead at the castle. “I won’t know until I get there.”

“You have to be joking.”

“There are two possibilities here, Hange. Either Eren is a traitor or he isn’t. If he isn’t, then I won’t have to kill him. I’ll figure out a way to convince Erwin to hear him out, and if push comes to shove, I’ll do whatever I have to to make sure Eren isn’t slaughtered on the spot.” It’s a vague plan at best, even Levi has to admit. He has no concrete ideas on how to save Eren from the Survey Corps wrath without knowing why he attacked the castle. 

Hange’s foot nudges his ankle. She asks very gently, “and what if he is a traitor, Levi?”

What if he is?

Levi swallows past the sudden cotton in his mouth. He digs his nails into his palms. “Then I guess I have no choice but to follow my orders.”

“You’ll be able to?”

He jerks his head to snap at her. “Don’t fucking doubt my ability to do my job.”

“I’m doubting your ability to remain unbiased, ass-face.”

“I can be unbiased. I’ve done it before. I beat the shit out of him in front of an entire courtroom, if you so happen to forgot.” At the memory, Levi feels the impact of flesh and bones against his knuckles, and he cradles them. 

“That was a long time ago. That was before Eren became your responsibility or your charge or...or whatever he is. And that was to _save_ him. You know what I do remember, Levi? I remember you literally jumping between Eren and your squad when he accidentally transformed his hand. You stood between you comrades for some kid you only barely knew— so, excuse me if I don’t fully believe that you can act against your heart.”

It feels like Hange’s reached into Levi’s chest to rip the organ in question out. Levi drops his head and clenches his fists. Stupid fucking Hange. God he hates how honest she can be. All his anger deflates out of him like a balloon. 

“So what if I can’t?” he mumbles to the ground. “What are you going do about it?”

A hand squeezes his nape. Levi looks at her through his fringe. Her smile is bittersweet.

“I told you I trust you, didn’t I? I’m not going to get in your way.” Levi’s eyes widen, and she continues. “But, please, don’t let your feelings cloud your judgement; for all our sakes.”

He clicks his tongue and glances away. “It’s weird seeing you take things seriously for once.”

“Hey, I’m plenty serious!”

“I am not having this conversation with a woman who, to figure out if titans could experience arousal, took her shoe and—”

Hange smacks him in her haste to clap a hand over his mouth, and her reaction is so amusing Levi doesn’t even retaliate. “I told you never to bring that up!” 

She’s interrupted by one of her squad members calling for her, and Hange leaves in a bustle, telling Levi to go seek out Erwin and get filled in on the details of their expedition. He ignores her. Levi’s truly not in the mood to deal with the man, and it’s probably not good for his blood pressure either.

It’s fine, he doesn’t need the details anyways. He’s going to be following his own plan.

+

It takes three days for the Military Police and Garrison to bring back supplies and horses. They head for Shiganshina the next morning. The trip takes a week at full-speed and with as minimal amount of pit stops as possible. It’s a strain on the entire corps— with nearly half still recovering and the other half hesitant about the mission in the first place— but Erwin wastes no time or resources in chasing after Eren. He has bloodlust in his eyes, and Levi does good not to meet them.

It’s not long before they reach the broken gates of Shiganshina. A feeling of unease settles heavily over the soldiers like a sheet; it was much too easy getting here. They’ve suffered no losses on the journey, no unexpected delays. And now, just feet before the walls— there is nothing standing in between them. Not even a single titan. Levi knows better than to take this as a good omen.

At the head, Erwin turns his horse around to face his men. “Listen up, soldiers! Our objective is simple: locate Eren Jaeger. We have no idea how he we might find him: as a human, a titan, or even if he will be here at all. But when and if you discover him, it is your duty to take him down at all costs. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to apprehend him without casualties, so don’t bother attempting it.” Erwin’s voice rings loud and clear across the field. “You aim to kill. Do I make myself clear?”

The thump of hundreds of fists over chests along with the echoing: “Sir, yes sir!” sounds like a gong in Levi’s ears. He does his best to tune them out.

Erwin begins assigning squadrons to sections of the city. When he gets to Levi, he clamps a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder, making him tense up.

“Levi, you and your squad are going to Eren’s old home. If he’s anywhere in Shiganshina, it’ll be there. Have Mikasa guide the way.” Erwin squeezes his arm. “You know why I’m having you lead this task, right?”

“Because I’m the only one capable of actually bringing the kid down,” Levi answers stoically.

“No. It’s because you know Eren the best.”

He raises a brow at that. “You really think that? More than his own sister and bestfriend? Hell, what about the squadmates he lived three years in the barracks with?”

Erwin shakes his head. “They may have spent a good deal of time with him, but you’ve seen a different side of Eren— one I feel is his most honest facet. That means you know what he’ll do, how he’ll act, which direction he might strike in when he gets cornered. I have utter faith in you, Levi. I know you can do this.”

Levi smooths his expression out. _Sorry to disappoint you then, commander._ “You won’t regret this, Erwin.”

The corps ride in through the gates, officially entering Shiganshina. They immediately see why the trip there had been so titan-free.

“Oh my god,” Hange mumbles beside Levi. For the first time, he doesn’t know if she sounds excited or distraught by what she’s about to say. “There’s so many of them.”

Dozens upon dozens of titans litter the town before them. The heads of the ten and fifteen-meter titans bobble over the roofs of the houses, while the shorter creatures roam aimlessly down the streets. It’s more than they were expecting from this mission. Maybe more than they were prepared to handle.

Levi thinks of Eren then and his heart pangs deeply. If Eren truly had been heading for his hometown, how would he have made it through this mess? He would’ve long used his titan form’s energy up before even making it here, which means he’d have had to wade through the sea of titans on foot. Levi has to squeeze his eyes shut against the mental images that ensue. 

“No time to waste, soldiers!” Erwin bellows. “Charge!”

Levi brings his focus back. He snaps the reigns on his horse, and turns his head to shout at his squad behind him. “We’re heading for Eren’s old home! Mikasa, you lead the way. Jean, guard the rear, Connie and Sasha on the sides. Watch out for titans, but avoid fighting if you can! Let’s go!”

Mikasa guides her horse at a sprint past Levi, and the team hurries after her. Much of the streets have been reduced to nothing due to the titan’s stomping and the remaining rubble of buildings. Mikasa leads a ferocious pace despite this, and even Levi feels the strain of making sharp turns and veering into narrow alleys and dodging the occasional flying debris. They find themselves weaving through a relatively quieter part of town, away from the brutal fighting at the front, but even then they run into titans. A smaller ten-meter titan comes bumbling after them, and Levi curses as it swipes a gangly arm over their heads.

“Damnit— Jean! Cover us!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Levi twists over his shoulder to watch Jean dismount his horse and use his gear to fly on a neighboring building. He sprints, jumps at the titan, and neatly slashes its nape in a clean motion. Levi’s pulse doesn’t settle until the boy makes it safely back onto his horse, however. 

“Captain, we’re almost there,” Mikasa yells over the rumble of their horses. “What are we supposed to do then?”

Hell if he knows. “Erwin’s ordered us to search for Eren. We’ll start at your house. There’s a basement, isn’t there? That Eren’s always talking about? We’ll look inside and then cover the surrounding area.” Given that they’re not eaten by the swarm of titans first.

Levi speaks too soon, because when a short ride later they make a turn and arrive at the remains of Eren’s and Mikasa’s home— they’re greeted by no less than five titans who simultaneously snap their attention to the humans. 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding,” Connie murmurs.

“Back up!” Levi commands. “Get back, get down the steps! Let them come to us; we’ll use the buildings around us to our advantage.”

The group follow the order and climb down the small steps. The titans clunkily turn around and follow after them, grouping together in the small alleyway to fit. _Good,_ Levi thinks. _We can get them like this. If Mikasa and I take the two on the left, and let Armin and Sasha take that one on the right, there’s still enough room for—_

A flash of lightning blinds them all then, and a roaring boom of thunder knocks them off of their feet.

Levi’s ears ring and he groans, shielding his ears from the nose. He’s on the ground. How’d he get on the ground? Spots dance before his eyes. Somebody nearby shouts something in pain. The ground. Lightning. There was lightning. 

He snaps his eyes open and scrambles to his feet, already drawing his blades. _Fuck fuck fuck_ where are they. Where is he. A dust cloud has gathered around them, suffocating in his lungs and making his eyes burn, but Levi doesn’t dare blink and miss it. He scans the skies— 

“Holy hell!” Sasha shouts behind him, and he follows her finger.

On the other side of the city, well above the cloud of debris, is the Colossal Titan.

“Damnit! What is he doing here?!” Jean shouts.

“Fuck that, where are those five titans?” Connie says. “I can’t see anything with all this dust!”

“Ready your weapons!” Levi commands. “Get up. Once this cloud settles we’ll attack. Prepare for them to pop out at you.”

The group of seven press their backs to one another, forming a circle in the plaza. They wait in silence. Deep within the city, they hear the screams of their comrades and the booming blow of collapsing buildings. They bear the soot trickling up their noses and down their throats, stinging their eyes like chlorine. They feel the solid warmth of each other’s body pressed to their sides, the cool metal of their blades in their hands, the steady pulse of their heart under their skin. Levi keeps his eyes peeled directly in front of him, though he itches to glance over his shoulder. He knows he can trust his team, and he also knows that the second he looks away will be the moment one of those bastard creatures attack. So he keeps still and watches, and soon the dust settles.

The titans are no longer there. Their blood is splattered on the homes around them, pooling on the stone, the remains of their limbs torn apart and singed. 

Standing in their spot is the Armored Titan. 

“Oh my god,” Armin whispers.

Levi can’t believe his eyes, but there he is— the Armored Titan. Reiner and Bertholdt must have transformed at the same time to throw the troops off guard, but why? What are they doing here? And how did Reiner find Levi and his squad at this exact location? Was he...did he know their plan?

He shakes his head. No time to wonder. 

“Everyone! Your new target is the Armored Titan!” Levi shouts. “Whatever you have to do, don’t let him get away!”

A chorus of fiery “Yes, Captain!” sounds off, but Levi doesn’t stick around to hear. He shoots his wire at a nearby tower and kicks off with all his might. Mikasa and Jean go right while he goes left, Connie and Armin attack head on, and Sasha and Historia ascend the rooftops. Reinier pauses for a fraction of a second; but it’s enough.

Levi screams his lungs raw as he lunges for the titan. Reinier catches on and makes to swat the man away like a fly, but Levi dodges neatly and swings around to the ground, where he slices through the Armored Titan’s achilles heel. Reinier lets out a shout as he drops to one knee. The distraction is sufficient enough for Mikasa and Jean to attack, and they take out an eye each. 

“Good!” Levi yells. “Connie and Armin, take out his other leg; Sasha and Historia, aim for his arms! We cut off his limbs and then go for the kill!”

Levi stands out of the way, perched on the roof of a crumbled home, waiting for his moment to strike. Mikasa covers Connie and Armin as they work on Reiner’s left ankle. Historia succeeds in cutting through his shoulder, but Sasha only makes a deep lash before the titan throws her off, sending her flying backwards.

“Sasha!” Jean screams. Levi stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

“She’ll be fine, I need you. You’re going to slice through Reiner’s jaw, and then I’ll cut his nape from the back of his throat, understand?”

Jean pales. “Captain, that’s a suicide mission. Reiner could swallow you whole.”

“Not if I’m fast enough. Listen, Kirschtein, you go after Mikasa takes out that other arm. With Reiner still blinded and incapicated, you should have no problem.” A ferocious shout interrupts him, and the two look over to see Mikasa dicing through the titan’s shoulder. His limb falls to the ground and upheaves another cloud of dust. “Fucking— go, now!”

Jean snaps his mouth shut and his eyes harden with determination. He turns and sprints down the rooftop. The rest of the squad hop off of Reiner as Jean unshields his blades, screaming as he charges. He’s very nearly at the end of the building now. Levi watches with his breath held as Jean holds his pistons up, aims at the titan, presses down on the trigger—

When a third bolt of lightning sounds from behind them. The resounding _Boom!_ knocks Jean off balance, and he lets out a shout as he tumbles off the building, only barely catching himself. Levi is thrown off the side as well, but he scrambles for purchase on the gutter at the very last second. His shoulder screams in pain, but he grits his teeth through it, looking for the source of the light.

“What the fuck was that?!” A voice that may have been Connie’s shouts from below.

They don’t have long to wonder, because only moments after does the street start shaking with rapidly approaching steps. Levi grunts and pulls himself up on the roof to crane his neck and see.

...It’s Eren. Holy shit.

Eren’s titan comes rampaging down the tiny alleyway, emerald eyes glowing and locked on Reiner. No one has time to react before he throws himself at the other creature, and both go tumbling down and crashing into a building. 

Levi’s breathe escapes him in a stuttered exhale.

“Fuck yeah!” Sasha shouts. She’s limping— but on her feet— and comes to join the rest of the squad on the street below. “Get him, Eren!”

Historia drops her blades and pumps her fists into the air. “I knew it! I knew Eren wouldn’t betray us.”

“We need to help him,” Mikasa says.

Levi crawls down from the roof and lands lightly on his feet next to them. He doesn’t tear his eyes from Eren holding Reiner down in a chokehold. “We’d just get in the way. Let’s see how this pans out first.”

A hand hesitantly tugs his elbow, and Levi turns to see Armin smiling at him, face red and eyes wet. “Thanks for believing in him, Captain.”

Levi’s throat tightens. He gives a stiff nod.

The clipped galloping of hooves from an adjacent alleyway catches their attention. It’s another squad.

“Hey, are you guys alright?” A woman nearly covered head-to-toe in soot asks them. Levi can’t even recognize her under all the filth. “We were taking care of a couple titans a few blocks away when we saw the lightn— oh my god.” She points a shaking finger at the two titans grappling for dominance down the street. “That’s— that’s Eren Yeager.”

“And the Armored Titan!” says another from her squad. He grabs one of his blades. “Let’s attack while they’re distracted!”

“Hold it,” Levi says. They halt immediately. “Eren is taking care of the Armored Titan. If we get in the way, we risk our own lives and jeopardize Eren’s ability to take him down.”

The squad leader looks at him as if he’s grown two heads. “Captain Levi, are you...are you joking?”

He glares at her, and she visibly shrinks. “Does it look like I am?”

She steels herself. “But, you can’t be serious. Eren Jaeger is a traitor— he’s working with that one and the Colossal Titan, for fuck’s sake!”

“Look at that!” Connie says as he jabs a thumb back at the two fighting. “Does it look like Eren’s siding with Reiner? He attacked him!”

Then, as if summoned, Eren lets out an earth-shuddering bellow. Levi and the rest of his squad cover their ears and turn to see what’s going on.

Reiner has finally gained the advantage and kicks Eren off, sending him flying into another house. Reiner gets to his feet and crouches low, ready to spring. It only takes a second for Eren to pick himself back up. The soldiers watch with bated breath as their friend stands, raises a fist— 

—and pummels it into a row of buildings, sending the pieces down the street and flying towards them.

Levi’s instincts kick in. “Get out of the way!” he shouts, and shoots a wire up to the roof and pulls himself out of the path of destruction.

Brick and wood soar through the alley. All the soldiers react instantly by either following suit and zooming out of the way, or running for cover behind the remaining standing buildings. It takes a moment for the dust to settle, but then Levi can survey the full damage. Eren’s completely blocked the street.

“What was that…?” Mikasa mumbles. She and Levi exchange a glance. 

“He tried to kill us!” One of the other squad members shouts from afar. “He used his buddy as a distraction. Damnit!”

“Is everyone okay?” Armin calls out.

“Hell no!” Jean answers, crawling out from under a pile of plyboards. He’s scuffed, but relatively uninjured. “Eren nearly crushed us all!”

“I can’t believe it,” Sasha murmurs. “Is...is Eren actually on their side?”

Mikasa reaches over and shakes the girl by her collar. “Don’t you dare say that.”

“Then how do you explain him chucking an entire house at us?!”

Her grip falters. “I…” She looks to the captain for help, but Levi isn’t paying them any attention.

His focus is on Eren.

Without a word to his team, Levi leaps off the building and flies towards the scene. He ignores the shouting after him— in fact, he can barely hear it over the ringing in his ears. The mess Eren’s created blocks the path to the two titans, but Levi zips over to a nearby street, flips over the building, and spins around the blockage to the other side, where he finds Eren and Reiner. 

The Armored Titan spots Levi first. He changes focus and charges at him. Levi pulls himself up into the air, blades already drawn— 

When the wall he’s attached his grappling hook into crumbles, and Levi falls out of the sky. 

Fuck. It’s like falling through the floors of the castle all over again. Levi’s pulse spikes, but he regains himself and quickly searches for another building to latch onto. There, just on his left. He aims his piston at it, but a wayward brick plummets into his arm— his _bad_ one— and Levi screams in pain as his blade is knocked from his grip. He’s going to pancake into the ground. Reiner is still charging at him from his peripheral. Damnit, shit! His other blade, where’s his other blade. The ground is approaching too fast.

But before Levi faceplants into the cement and his brains splay over the tile, a meaty hand swipes him out of the air, knocking the wind from Levi’s lungs. Eren wraps his fingers around the man, and in one swift move, kicks Reiner in the jaw and across the plaza. The wind whips at Levi’s face as Eren’s titan stumbles and rights himself. He dimly wonders if he’s about to be squeezed to death.

Ignoring the stabbing pain in his arm and the constriction across his entire body, Levi focuses on Eren. The titan takes a few heaving breaths, and then as if he can feel the weight of Levi’s eyes; turns to the human in his palm. He unfurls his hand and sets Levi down gently on a roof. Levi, too stunned to form a coherent thought, or to attack the titan as he probably should, says the only thing that comes to mind.

“Eren...” Levi’s voice is so hoarse he wonders if the other can even hear him. “Why are you doing this?”

Something flickers in Eren’s eyes, and it’s so familiar, so startlingly human on this monster’s face. Levi’s seen that look many times. He misses it. He misses it so dearly his heart aches.

Eren raises a finger and carefully strokes the side of Levi’s face.

_Promise to believe in me._

Erwin’s voice a few streets down shatters the moment.

_“There he is! Charge!”_

Levi whips back to see Erwin and at least half of the Survey Corps stampeding through the city, sights set on Eren. 

The two meet eyes one more time— _please, please don’t let this be the last_ — before Eren steps back. He brings himself to his full height, raises his arms, and roars at the rushing army.

“No, Eren—!”

Levi reaches out to...to what? Save the boy? Kill him himself? He doesn’t know. But he doesn’t get the chance, and neither do the Corps. The Armored Titan sprints for him, easily bypasses the soldiers, and swings a newly grown, hardened fist into Eren’s face. Pieces of flesh and bone explode on impact, raining down on the street and Levi like a terrible, bloody storm. He freezes, and can do nothing but watch as Reiner tears into the titan’s neck with ferocious jaws, ripping an unconscious Eren from his meat suit. Reiner spits the boy into the palm of his hand, and then he’s off, rampaging towards the wall with no regard for anything in his way. He’s already halfway there when Levi blinks, and by the time he remembers to breathe and swallows a gasp of air— Reinier, the Colossal Titan, and Eren are long gone from Shiganshina’s confines.

Levi screams until his vocal chords give out and the taste of copper floods his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [gives you 0.02 seconds of ereri interaction] is this Content™?
> 
> fr tho I hATE slow burn. What am I doing? How did I end up here? I guess you really do either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain smh.
> 
> but!! we're finally getting there, don't you worry! next chap: Levi is a stubborn bastard, and Eren's POV.
> 
> thank you for reading <3


	4. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of Shiganshina, Levi is confident that Eren isn't a traitor and that he needs help. However, convincing everyone else to rescue the boy may prove futile, but Levi isn't one to give up so easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH don't kill me but I lied, this chapter isn't Eren's pov. It was originally going to be, but I thought it over and realized it'd make more sense story-structure wise for it to come in the next chap...also, for the ✨drama✨
> 
> anyways, please enjoy Levi having an emotional meltdown, being pathetically deep in denial, and getting ready to risk it all just to rescue eren.

Levi loses touch with all of his senses slowly.

First it’s his hearing. His own vehement screaming is the last thing that rings in his ears before it all goes silent. Then it’s taste— blood swarms in his mouth from where he’s bitten his tongue, and after breathing in the copper scent of it, his smell goes too. Levi falls to his knees on the roof, and is dimly aware of the tiling digging into his shins, the prickling throb in his shoulder, the soreness all over his body— then the pain and everything else fades away. The last of his senses to leave is his sight. Levi stares at Wall Maria far, far across the town like he can see through the stone and pinpoint Reiner and Bertholdt and Eren before it’s too late. Then his eyes too begin to lose focus, and all Levi has now is a deep, aching numbness in the pit of his soul.

A whisper of a memory brushes the back of his mind. Levi chases after it before it slips away from him like sand through his fingers. 

_It’s a rare occasion that finds Levi and Eren having their usual nightly discussions somewhere other than the solace of Levi’s room. It’s a soft Spring afternoon. The two are out in the woods behind the castle, strapped in their maneuvering gear and perched on a sturdier branch of the tallest tree they could find. Eren’s got that far-away, glassy look in his eyes he’s been wearing since his abduction. Levi snaps his fingers in front of the boy’s face to shoo the ghosts from his mind._

_“Where’s your head, Jaeger? If you fell right now I seriously doubt you’d react quickly enough to save your sorry self.”_

_Eren blinks a few times, then cocks a half-grin. “Would you be the one to push me off, Captain?”_

_“Maybe. And I said to call me Levi.”_

_“Right. Levi.” Eren scratches at the back of his neck. “That’ll take some getting used to.”_

_“You didn’t answer my question.”_

_Eren glances down at the forest floor far below them. “My head’s in its normal place, sir.”_

_“Which isn’t here.”_

_“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be distracted. I really appreciate the private maneuvering lessons, Levi, I do. It’s just…” Eren flicks his eyes up at the foliage around them. The light makes its way in between a few leaves, scattering sun spots around them, but for the most part the woods are dark. Empty. Eren shakes his head. “Everything reminds me of that forest. Of them.”_

_Levi frowns. “You know obsessing over it isn’t going to change a thing, Eren. You escaped. They ran away. It is what it is.”_

_“I can’t help it. That day keeps repeating through my brain like a loop. Over and over and over— and it won’t end. Sometimes there’s a lull in the nightmares, but they always comes back. It won’t ever end until—”_

_“Until what?” Levi interrupts. “You somehow find Reiner, gut him like a deer, and then use his intestines to strangle Bertholdt with? Do you really think you’ll get the chance to do that?”_

_Eren grimaces and leans away. “No. Of course not. That’s disgusting, by the way.” He lets out a disappointed huff of breath and brings his legs up to his chest, setting his chin against his knees. “Besides,” he adds quietly, “killing them wouldn’t end all of this. If only it were that easy.”_

_Levi raises a brow. “How do you mean?”_

_“Back on that day, when we were in that forest, I heard Reiner and Bertholdt talking about their hometown. About bringing Ymir and I back for their comrades. They’re part of something bigger, them and Annie and God knows who else. It wouldn’t end with killing those two, Levi. More would take their place; they’d knock more holes in our walls and wipe out more of our towns and if we kill those new ones? Well, they’d just send a couple more faceless soldiers.”_

_The wind rustles the leaves around them. Eren continues to stare at a spot just off the horizon. Levi watches him, studying his profile and marking the way the shadows dance across the valleys of his weary, solemn face. Eren looks years beyond his age in the lighting, more tired than a boy like him should ever be._

_“So,” Levi says, “What are you going to do?” Because Eren is a man of action. It’s not a question of if he’ll do something, but what._

_Eren doesn’t take long to think about it before he answers, “I guess I’ll just have to find Reiner and Bertholdt’s comrades, and then kill them all.”_

_He stands. The branch wobbles with the motion. Eren brushes the dirt off of his hands before offering one down to Levi with a plain and pretty expression. He doesn’t seem to notice the stiffness of the captain’s shoulders, or the way his eyes have widened beyond their normal size._

_“Should we continue training, Levi?”_

His shoulder. Somebody’s grabbing Levi by the shoulder and shouting his name.

“—tain? Captain Levi!”

Levi blinks, sight returning to him along with the rest of his senses. The memory of Eren and the trees disappears like a cloud in the breeze, leaving him feeling hollow and...hot. He is on fire. A crackling flame begins burning deep within Levi. He twists his head to the soldier in front of him. He doesn’t recognize the cadet, and even if he did, he wouldn’t hesitate. Levi uses his other arm to throw a fist into the man’s face and send him sprawling on his ass.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” Levi grounds out between bared teeth. 

He stomps forward, his mind ablaze and buzzing, and kicks the fallen soldier in his side. He barely remembers to hold back enough not to break the bastard’s ribs.

“Where’s Erwin?” he demands. The man groans. Levi aims another harsh kick at his shin. “I said where’s Erwin!”

A strong pair of arms pull Levi off of the soldier. “Stop it, Levi!” Hange shouts. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Levi considers headbutting Hange in the chin, but then catches sight of Erwin and a few others riding down the street. He breaks free of Hange’s grip and shoots a wire down to swing off the roof and into the alley. Erwin looks at Levi like he’s only a few moments away from skinning him— Levi shares his sentiment.

“Erwin!” Levi shouts, coming to a stop in front of his horse. Erwin hops down and and stands too close, looming over him with a murderous expression. Levi doesn’t flinch. “We need to gather the troops right away. Forget the head count, just round everybody up. We have to go rescue Eren before Reiner and Bertholdt get too far. They’re heading back into Wall Maria so they m—”

The commander forcibly shoves Levi back. Levi stumbles before catching his footing. He is vividly aware of the fact that if they weren’t currently surrounded by gawking soldiers watching their every move, Erwin would have done much more than just shoving him or dislocating his jaw. 

“You directly disobeyed your orders, Levi,” Erwin grounds out. “You had the perfect opportunity to take down both Eren _and_ Reiner, and you didn’t! Now they’re on the run again! Explain yourself.”

Levi is shaking. He balls his fists at his sides, digging his nails into his palms hard enough to draw blood. “Listen to me, Erwin. I saw it all myself. Eren was very deliberate in his actions here today. He was careful not to maim a single soldier when blocking the streets. He saved my squad and myself from Reiner. He had every single opportunity to kill me and everyone here, yet he didn’t. He saved us, and it gave the enemy the opportunity to kidnap him again. He’s in trouble, Erwin! We have to find him before it’s too late!”

“No, Levi, you listen to me. Eren was not _kidnapped_ by the enemy, he escaped with them. And just because Eren missed when he threw those buildings at our comrades doesn’t mean he wasn’t aiming to kill! He was here in Shiganshina for a reason, him and those other two traitors. They came to attack, and they did. We lost hundreds on the other side of town to the Collosal Titan, not to mention who knows how many more battling in the city.” Erwin shuts his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. “There’s no time for this. You and I will discuss this more later. For now, gather the survivors and rendezvous at the Gate into Wall Maria. Do I make myself clear, Levi?”

Levi grits his teeth. _Control yourself. This is not the time or place to lash out. Breathe. Think this through._ “Yes, commander.”

He stomps off in search of his squad while Erwin shouts orders at the men around them to round up injured soldiers. Levi brushes off any overly-concerned cadets asking after him, but he should have known better than to to think he could get rid of Hange so easily.

“Levi, slow down, would you? Jesus, look at your shoulder. And your arm’s bleeding, too. How’d you punch that one guy with an injury like that? _Why_ did you punch that one guy? Oi, don’t ignore me.”

Levi shakes her off, then instantly regrets it when his arm screams at him in protest. He grunts. “I’m fine.”

“Why do you even bother lying anymore?”

“Hange, lay the fuck off. There’s no time for this. We need to find Eren.”

She easily keeps pace with him. “Eh? So all you said back there was true? You think he was kidnapped?”

“Why would I say it if it wasn’t true?!”

“I thought maybe you were just trying to think of any possible way to get Erwin to let you chase after the kid, truth or not.” He whips a glare around at her, and she raises her hands in surrender. “Sorry. It’s not an insult to your loyalty to the corps or anything. It’s just, you know...because you care about him.”

Levi stumbles over a pile of rubble, and Hange catches him by his bad arm before he can eat shit. He hisses through his teeth and yanks his hand back.

“Fuck you, Hange. Stop assuming shit about what I’m doing or what I’m feeling or— or any of it. Mind your damn business.”

Hange’s face falls for a fraction of a second, and Levi begins to regret his words, but she bounces back before he can say anything else. “Fine,” she says, mouth pursed. “I’ll leave it alone. But whatever your deal is with Eren that you don’t want me or anyone else poking at— you can’t keep letting it consume you. You lost your shit back there, Levi, you did! You beat some poor kid and shouted at the commander in front of everybody! This isn’t you. What’s going on?”

Lava flows in Levi’s veins. He sees red. He has to physically force his body to calm down. He squeezes his fists, tucks his chin against his chest, and controls his breathing. In...out...in...out. Don’t punch Hange. Don’t yell at Hange. Keep your shit together. Breathe, Levi. When he looks back up, his anger has receded back into the well of emotions kept somewhere in a forgotten crevice of his soul. He is calm. 

“I’m worried about Eren,” Levi says simply. No sentiment attached to the words, no explanation tacked after them. It’s the truth.

Hange’s eyes soften behind her glasses. “Okay. Then let’s go do something to help him.”

Levi nods. After a thought, he reaches out and lightly squeezes Hange’s arm. She lights up with a smile.

It’s not hard to find Levi’s squad, even amongst the wreckage. Their yelling bounces up and down the ruined street. Levi’s not surprised at their rage, but what he is surprised at is the sight that greets him and Hange. Jean and Mikasa are in each other’s faces, Jean gripping her by the scarf as he glowers down at her, and Mikasa with her arm against his jugular. Armin is failing at holding Mikasa back, and Sasha and Connie struggle with Jean. Historia stands between the two, trying in vain to shove them apart.

“Wake up, Mikasa!” Jean shouts, spittle flying as he does. His face is as red as the blood splattered on the cobblestone around them. “Eren played us all! He played _you!_ Stop defending that bastard traitor!”

“No, you’re wrong,” Mikasa yells back, shockingly emotional for the usually collected girl. “Eren hasn’t betrayed us! There’s more to it, I know it. This isn’t him.”

“Listen to yourself,” Connie says. “You’re so deep in denial because he’s your family, but the evidence is right in front of us.”

Sasha scowls. “She just doesn’t want to admit that her precious Eren is another one of those disgusting, horrible monsters.”

“Shut up!” Armin snaps. “You guys won’t listen to reason!”

“Please,” Historia says, “Everyone just settle down!”

Jean ignores the constriction against his throat to pull Mikasa closer by her scarf— tearing the fabric as he does so. “I’m sorry, Mikasa, but brother or not, there’s only one thing left to do. We have to kill Erem.”

Mikasa roars and headbutts the boy, sending the entire squad into a wild frenzy of kicks and swinging fists that only halts when Levi snaps for their attention. The seven kids pause in their place on the ground, faces twisted in dumb horror.

Levi glares at the pathetic pile of cadets. “Stand up, all of you. What are you, children? You think we have time for you to fight right now? You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

“Captain, you— you’re alive?” Historia asks. “But we saw you fall! We saw Eren crush you in his palm!”

What? “Eren didn’t crush me— he saved me from Reiner and from crashing into the ground.”

Mikasa’s eyes widen, sparkling with unshed tears. “I knew it,” she mumbles. “I knew he wouldn’t have killed you.”

“So what?” Sasha argues. “He definitely tried to kill us!”

“Did he?” Armin says before Levi can interject. “He could have hurled that entire building at us faster than we’d be able to react, but he didn’t. He only sent the roof tumbling down the street. There was plenty of time for us to move out of the way; no one died, none of us are even injured. Do you think that was an accident?”

Connie falters. “But...but why? Why attack us at all?”

“He was protecting us,” Levi says. They turn to him with eyes like saucers. “By blocking the street, he kept Reiner away and also prevented us from jumping in to fight.”

Jean lets out a hysterical half-laugh. “Captain...don’t tell us you honestly still believe in Eren, even after that.”

Levi doesn’t waver. “Remember what happened when Reiner was going to attack us? Eren showed up and fought him. He came to our rescue yet again. Why would he do that if he was working with those two? Eren’s had several chances to wipe us and the Corps out. He could’ve done it at the castle, he could’ve let Reiner and Bertholdt take us, he could’ve squished me in his hand like a bug— but he didn’t. Because he’s _not_ a traitor.”

Sasha holds her head in her hands. “What the fuck is happening?”

Historia looks hesitant to speak up, but when she does it’s in a clear, loud voice. “Captain, if you don’t think Eren is a traitor, what do you think he’s doing?”

Levi looks each of his team members in the eye, studying the hesitance, anger, and confusion on all of their faces. He turns to Hange. She gives him a stiff nod. 

“Eren told me something a while ago,” Levi says. “When he was kidnapped by Reiner and Bertholdt, he said they mentioned their comrades. We obviously know Annie is their accomplice, and that Ymir is working with them as well, or at the very least is cooperating with the two.” At the mention of Ymir, Historia stiffens. “Even if we kill Reiner and Bertholdt, even if Annie stays in her cocoon forever, even if Ymir never tries to attack the walls— it won’t matter. Because there will always be more of the enemy. This nightmare will never end as long as Reiner and Bertholdt still have comrades to fight with them. Eren knew this, and he told me there’s only one thing he wants to do now: kill the enemy— _all_ of them.”

The squad remain silent and dumb-struck for several long seconds. The sound of chaos swarms over their heads. Two blocks down someone is crying for help. Maybe a mile away is a ten-meter titan, wandering over in their direction. The remains of a building on their left cracks, then crumbles to the ground entirely, shaking the cadets out of their stupor. They look scared in the purest sense of the word— terrified to the core.

“Captain…” Jean mumbles. He spares a guilty look at Mikasa and Armin. “What are we going to do?”

Levi stands up straight. “I have a plan to rescue Eren. But first, Erwin ordered all of us to meet at the Gates. We’ll see what the commander has to say, then I’ll give you your orders.”

Historia steps forward. “Captain, if Eren really is trying to learn who Reiner and Bertholdt’s comrades are, do you think locating them means we’ll be able to find Ymir, too?” She bites her lip, but continues firmly. “Do you think we can bring her back?”

“I don’t know, Historia. It’s a possibility.” 

The girl looks deeply disappointed by his lacklustre answer, and Levi feels for her. But, Ymir is the last of his personal concerns. Levi clears his throat.

“Locate your horses. We’ll head to the gate after doing a sweep of the area for any survivors.”

His squad thumps their fists over their chests before splitting off. After rounding up their horses and clearing the block, Levi leads them through the city towards the gate. It’s a mostly silent ride, besides Jean and Mikasa’s hushed and guilty apologies to each other that Levi tries his best to ignore. When they ride up to the ruined gates, most of the others are already there, including Erwin and Hange who are poring over a map. Erwin spots him and waves him over.

Levi speaks first. “Erwin, I want to apologize for my behavior back there. I didn’t mean to snap.”

Hange makes a strangled sound in the back of her throat that she conceals with a cough. Erwin’s brows raise in mild surprise.

“I don’t care that you yelled at me in front of all our subordinates, Levi. I care that you didn’t fulfill your mission.”

“I hesitated. I take full responsibility for the consequences that not killing Eren and Reiner will have.”

Erwin steps forward. “Is there a conflict of interest here, Levi? Can I trust you to do your job and kill Eren when we find him, or do I need to appoint someone else?”

Levi exhales through his nose and resists the urge to ball his fists. The commander would see. “You can trust me, Erwin. I can do it. Eren is not a conflict of interest to me, or my weak spot. He’s a cadet— a rogue one.”

“Levi,” Erwin says plainly, “We both know that the closest thing you have to a weak spot is what you feel for Eren.”

Hange’s head whips up at that. Levi ignores her, ignores the sweat gathering on his palms or the tight feeling in his lungs or the way his heart suddenly speeds up, booming loud and unsteadily enough that Erwin must be able to hear it. He swallows past the cotton in his mouth.

“I don’t feel anything for him,” he says.

Erwin studies him a moment longer. “Good. Now, Hange and I were discussing what Eren, Reiner, and Bertholdt’s next possible move might be.”

Levi lets out a shaky breath. He shoots Hange a questioning look that she returns with a subtle shrug. He glances down at the map before them.

“I’m curious what those three’s true motives are. It was clearcut before, but after the events here today, I’m not so sure,” Erwin says. He points at where they are on the map: Shiganshina. “The most obvious thing for Reiner, Bertholdt, and Eren to have done would be to escape the confines of the walls entirely. It’d take us days to gather enough supplies and troops to venture out and chase them— we wouldn’t stand a chance. But they didn’t: they went the opposite way, further into Wall Maria.”

Hange hums. “That was a strange move. Where could they be heading? The Capital?”

“Maybe,” Levi says with a straight face. He knows the answer is not the Capital. There’s only one possible place Eren would go with Reiner and Bertholdt.

Erwin shakes his head and points at a different spot on the map. Levi follows his finger, and his blood runs cold. 

“I doubt it,” Erwin says. “I believe the reason they didn’t escape from here is because they need time to recuperate before venturing out. This is the one place that makes sense.” He looks up at Levi and Hange. “The Forest of Giant Trees, where we first fought them. It’s only a hundred kilometers northwest of here; it’s the perfect place for them to rest before escaping at night when the other titans aren’t active.”

Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Shit.

“No,” Levi says, voice hoarse. He clears it. “No, I don’t think they’d head there.”

Erwin turns a curious gaze on him. _Come on Levi, think of something, quick._ It has to be something good to convince the commander, and something that will keep the Corps off Eren’s trail and give Levi an opportunity to go rescue the boy himself. Fuck, get it together. Levi stands a little straighter and makes sure his tone is clear, meeting Erwin’s eyes without faltering.

“Reiner, Berhtholdt, and Eren are definitely heading to Stohess to retrieve Annie.”

Erwin purses his lips. “Why do you think so?”

“It doesn’t make sense for them to abandon their comrade, and, they probably think they have a head start over us with the mess they’ve left here in Shiganshina. Additionally, Eren told me what he overheard Reiner and Bertholdt talking about when they captured him. He said they were adamant on bringing Annie back with them, that they couldn’t leave without her. She’s essential to their mission.” Levi’s gaze flickers over to Hange. Without a word, and without giving himself away to Erwin, he tries to convey a message through his eyes alone. _For the love of God, play along._ “Hange can attest to that. Eren also confided in her about being kidnapped.”

To the woman’s credit, she doesn’t startle when Erwin turns the full force of his stare on her. She barely even pauses. “Yes, Eren did mention that to me. I agree with Levi; they have to be heading to Stohess as we speak.”

Erwin considers them for a moment, before rolling up his map and nodding decisively. “Very well. We’ll make to Stohess tomorrow morning. Tell your squads, and prepare them to get moving right away. We’ll make camp for the night somewhere on the way to Karanese’s gates.”

Once Erwin leaves and is lost in the thicket of soldiers, Levi slumps. He turns to Hange. “I could kiss you right now.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “Please don’t.”

Levi considers the greasy bird’s nest mop atop the woman’s head. He knows it’s been at least two weeks since Hange’s washed it, and the thought alone makes his skin curl— but fuck it. He’s too grateful. He drags Hange down to his height and ruffles her hair affectionately. The bubbly sound that escapes her is worth having to drown his hand in vinegar later.

“Thank you, four-eyes. I mean it.”

“Anything for you, Levi, even lying straight to the commander of the Survey Corps’s face. Please tell me we didn’t do it vain.”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan now.” Levi makes sure nobody’s paying close attention to them. They’re surrounded by troops, but each seem involved in their own troubles and injuries to pay them much mind. Even so, Levi lowers his voice as they walk through the crowd. “Erwin was right; Eren is definitely heading to the Forest of Giant Trees. It’s all the brat ever talked about, and now that he’s with both Reiner and Bertholdt, it makes perfect sense. It might be our only chance to rescue him.”

“How are you going to get there?” Hange makes a surprised noise, but keeps her gaze straight ahead and neutral. “Don’t tell me you’re going to sneak off when we head to Trost.”

“I’m going to sneak off when we head to Trost.”

“ _Levi._ That is extremely dangerous. Ignoring the possibility of being eaten alive on the journey there, what the hell are you going to say when you get back? _If_ you make it back. And if you somehow manage to rescue Eren, do you really think Erwin and the Corps are going to welcome him back with open arms? What are you going to do?”

Levi doesn’t reply. His steps are clipped, even, unhurried. After a few seconds of silence. Hange stops dead in her tracks. Levi halts as well, but doesn’t have the heart to face her.

“Levi...no.”

“What.”

“You’re going to run away?!” she hisses under her breath. “You’ll become a fugitive! You and your whole squad! How is that going to help Eren?”

“I’m not going to run! Okay?” She calms down slightly. Levi pinches the bridge of his nose. “Truth be told, I don’t know what I’m going to do after I find Eren. I’ll have to play it by ear.”

“You— I— that is the stupidest thing I’ve heard you say. Who are you and what have you done with Levi? You’re not one to jump into things head-first— especially when the thing you’re running towards is your own death. You need to think about what you’re getting yourself into, or else—”

Levi finally whips around on her. “There’s no time to think, Hange! Another second I waste could mean losing Eren, do you get that?”

Hange’s eyes shift behind her glasses, and they turn— God, Levi hates that fucking look. She looks at him like he’s something to be pitied. “But Levi,” she says gently, “this isn’t going to help Eren in the long run. The only person you’re helping with this idea...is you.”

Levi recoils. “Huh?”

“It’s a selfish plan. You’ve put no concrete thought or effort into a rescue mission because that’s not what this is. This is you, overruled by emotion, abandoning all reason and sense to take back what’s yours.” Hange’s face scrunches up. “I trusted you, Levi, but I asked you to do one thing: not let your feelings cloud your judgement.”

He stares at her. Is that what he’s doing? Does she think this is just some petulant tempter tantrum?

...Is it?

Levi finds the reminder to keep his emotions at bay insulting. He can’t remember the last time someone’s told him such a thing, or if anyone ever had to. He’s not one to lose his cool. Levi can count on one hand all the painful instances he’s been overcome by grief— the last being when he lost Isabel and Farlan. Ever since then, he’s kept his heart and anything dear to it under tight locks, not even daring to poke at it for fear of what might poke back. 

_But,_ a traitorous voice in Levi’s head speaks up, _haven’t you already lost your temper more times than you’d like to count in the past few weeks? When you tried to chase after Eren back at the castle, when you blew up at Erwin not just once— but twice, when you snapped at Hange for merely pointing out the truth, when you beat the shit out of that faceless cadet, when you screamed your lungs raw at the sight of your Eren being taken far, far away, when you—_

A needle of alarm pierces through Levi’s chest as he relives through each moment of shock, terror, and grief all over again. Hange is right. His head is not in the right place. He’s in no position to be making judgement calls when the only sense he can see is in emerald green eyes and a dusting of freckles like stars. Fuck, when had that happened? When had Levi grown so...weak? Sentimental?

Were his motives genuinely selfish?

Levi knew the answer wholeheartedly, and found he had no more room in his heavily guarded heart to feel guilty about it.

“Hange,” he says, “It doesn’t matter why I’m doing all this. Or for who. Or how. Because either way, there’s no telling how this situation will end. There’s no predicting it, just as there was no predicting the walls coming down, or Eren betraying us, or what happened here today.” He looks up at the woman. “It doesn’t matter that I don’t know what I’m doing, and that my... my emotions may be skewing my sense of what’s right. It all doesn’t matter. So, why not just do what I want, _because_ I want to?”

Hange’s expression remains as still as stone, but she drops her eyes from Levi so that he may not see what’s truly reflected in them.

+

It is a dark, cold night. Not even the moon is out to bear witness to Levi and his squad’s crime against the Corps— no one is. 

When at least an hour has passed since the last of their comrades had stumbled to bed, Levi slips out of his tent and into the open air. There, at the edge of the woods the Corps have taken shelter in for the night, are the silhouettes of seven figures. Even now, Levi can’t help but be surprised at the unfaltering loyalty of his squad. He approaches them silently and without waking anyone up.

When the teens spot him coming, they all stand up straight and salute him. Levi waves them down.

“Captain,” Armin says just barely above a whisper, “The coast is clear and our horses are ready to go. We should leave before anyone wakes up.”

“How long will it take to get to the Forest of Giant Trees?” Jean asks.

Levi unfolds a map from his pocket and spreads it out on a tree stump for the group to crowd around. “We’re somewhere right around here, maybe a quarter of the way to Karanese. It’s about one hundred kilometers to the forest, so if we’re lucky and don’t run into anything on our way, we can be there in two hours.”

Sasha perks up. “Two hours there and back...if the mission fails, we could make it back before the sun rises and anyone notices that we’re gone.”

Mikasa whips around to glare at the girl. “The mission isn’t going to fail, so don’t plan for it.”

“It’s alright,” Levi says with a raised hand. “If she or anyone else here would like to step down, say so now. It’s going to be tough: I know you’re all exhausted from the battle and the ride here, and what we may find at the forest won’t be any easier. Not to mention, I’m asking you to lay your life down and betray the Corps for someone who may possibly be a traitor.” A collective wince. “I’ll offer you all one more out: leave now if this isn’t something you want.”

The group doesn’t even hesitate. “We’ll stay,” Historia says in a firm voice. “It doesn’t matter what we might lose— it’s worth it if we can bring back Eren and even Ymir.”

Connie chuckles drily. “I agree, but man, that wasn’t a very motivating speech.”

Levi snorts. “I’m not going to give you false hope, Springer. I want you all to know the facts.”

“We know them, and we’re ready, sir,” Armin says. He nods stiffly. “Please lead us on a successful mission. You have our trust.”

Well, Levi wasn’t about to disappoint them.

“Alright, soldiers. Let’s get a move on.”

And off into the night they went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes!! I'm so excited to write this next chapter because we finally get Eren's pov! Is he actually working with Reiner and Bertholdt? What is he thinking? Where are they going? guess we'll never know...
> 
> kidding. I know. the rest of you guys will find out next time.
> 
> the ereri content is about to start picking up too, fyi 😗✌🏼
> 
> as always, thank u for reading <3


	5. Charades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren works on the next step of his plan, and the Levi Squad arrive at the Forest of Giant Trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright we're FINALLY HERE: Eren's pov! It only took me 19k words...
> 
> srsly this chapter was so fun to write. also mini spoiler I just can't hold it in: Levi and Eren finally reunite.
> 
> wait should I spoil that for you? omg maybe I should have left it a surprise. I'm so tired its like 2am I can't think IM SORRY I SPOILED MY OWN CHAPTER please still enjoy.

Eren gains consciousness to the earthy smell of pine needles and his own burning flesh. He nearly laughs. History truly does repeat itself, doesn’t it?

He’s careful not to show any sign that he’s awake, in case his captors are watching. He keeps his eyes closed despite his burning curiosity and makes sure his breaths are slow, even. _Think, Eren. Use your brain. Where are you?_

Well, it’s clear. There’s no other spot he might be. He knows this forest as well as the back of his hand; it’s the setting of all his nightmares, afterall. The rich scent of wet dirt and a cool, tickling breeze brushes his exposed skin. Oh, there’s more of it exposed than there should be. Eren’s chest and legs are cool— his shirt is gone. Ripped to shreds when he was torn out of his titan’s nape, most likely. Why aren’t his arms cold then? Eren tries to lift a finger experimentally. There’s nothing but a phantom twitch and the stinging realization that his arms are gone once more. Damnit. Fucking Reiner. Eren was definitely going to kill him— one day, not today. Against his bare back he can feel the scratch of treebark. Is he upright? Eren guesses he is, as his bangs are flopped against the front of his face. It’s so hard to tell when he can’t see and he’s still faint and his body is busy regenerating his missing limbs. _Focus. What can you hear?_ Eren strains his ears and listens over the rushing of his own blood. Wind rustling through the trees; an owl hooting; the low, back-and-forth murmur of two familiar voices.

Bingo.

“What are we still doing here, Reiner? Why _are_ we even here? We should’ve escaped the walls while we had the chance.”

“Keep your voice down— you’ll wake him up. And we’ll only stay long enough for my ribs to heal. Eren did a fucking number throwing me onto those buildings. I won’t be able to carry all of us over the walls and to the port until I heal.”

“If we wait any longer his arms will grow back and he’ll be impossible to keep subdued! Not to mention that the Corps could be their way as we speak.”

“If they were going to follow us they’d be here already. Something’s going on, Bertholdt. I think we’ll be okay for a little while longer as long as we…”

Eren doesn’t care to listen anymore. He’s got the two right where he wants them. Time to start the show.

He scrunches his face and groans, and immediately the voices halt. Eren feels their stares on him as if they were a physical touch, but he forces himself not to react to it. Slow and steady, Eren. You can’t blow this. He shifts, scooting up the trunk he was propped against, and cracks open an eye.

He was right, they’re in the Forest of Giant trees. Eren lets another breathy moan slip from his lips as he squints at his surroundings. It’s pitch dark, though the slivers of moonlight filtering in between the foliage provide just enough to see by. They’re deeper in the woods than last time, and the branch he’s situated on is higher up, too. He surveys the damage done to him— yep, both his arms are gnawed off. Eren just considers himself lucky that he still has his legs. He can work with that. Carefully, gaze flickering around like a bumbling insect, Eren finally focuses straight ahead, where he knows they’ll be. Reiner and Bertholdt are standing on the far side of the branch, watching him with wide eyes.

_Go time, Jaeger._

“You fucking _bastards!_ ” Eren roars.

He jumps to his feet, but the two are quick, and Eren lets himself be taken off guard. They run over and pin him down to the branch, Eren screaming and struggling in their hold. Bertholdt covers his legs (and leaves himself vulnerable to a kick to the face that Eren resists to indulge in) while Reiner restrains his upper body with a forearm pressed against the boy’s sternum. Eren snarls at him, the two nearly clashing foreheads.

“Calm it, Eren,” Reiner says firmly.

“Fuck you!” he spits. “You...I can’t believe you two. Once my arms grow back, I’m going to strangle you until your eyeballs pop out of your skull!”

Reiner half-smirks at that. “I look forward to it. Until then, can you settle down? Or will we have to saw your legs off like last time?”

Eren considers pushing just a bit longer, but recedes. He scowls, and stops fighting. Reiner’s face softens and he sits back, Bertholdt looking uneasy by his side.

“Thank you, Eren,” says Reiner. His eyes trail over the other. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Can’t say the same. It’s only been a month, but you jackasses just couldn’t wait to get your hands on me again, could you?”

Bertholdt frowns. “For what it’s worth, we’re sorry it has to be like this. You’ve really left us no choice.”

A flame of pure rage shoots through Eren so sharply it nearly blinds him. He shakes to get his emotions in reign. He considers saying fuck it all and leaping over to rip Bertholdt’s jugular out with his bare teeth. Eren can almost taste the copper in his mouth; it makes him salivate. But no, he’s come much too far to give in to his whims now. He’s given up too much— hurt too many of his loved ones. Eren balms his anger with a promise of _not yet, but soon. Soon I can tear their limbs off one by one, but I need them for now. Patience, Eren. It’ll all be worth it._

He returns to the script. “What the hell were you guys doing in Shiganshina?” he asks.

Reiner shrugs. “Waiting for you.” _No shit,_ Eren thinks. “But more importantly, why were you?”

“And on your own,” Bertholdt adds. “You didn’t come in with the Corps.”

Eren grits his teeth. He turns his head to glare at the other side of the forest. “None of your business.”

Rough fingers reach across and tilt his chin back. Eren can’t help but gasp as he’s forced to meet Reiner’s eyes. They’re not so kind anymore, though Eren doesn’t think they have been for a long time. Not since Trost— actually, even farther back than that. Ever since Eren stopped letting hands wander down his back and linger for a touch-too-long, ever since he joined the Corps on his own and gained independence for the first time, ever since he got over a stupid crush he’s regreted ever since seeing the object of his adolescent affection transform into a monster before his eyes and reign terror down on him and everything he— 

A wave of nausea rolls over Eren. He tries to squirm out of the grip, but Reiner holds on. 

“Don’t be difficult, Eren, please,” the blonde says in what Eren supposes is meant to be a placating tone. It sort of just makes him want to punch Reiner’s teeth in. “Where’s your squad? Mikasa and the others would never leave you like this— but we’ve been in this forest for hours now, and there hasn’t been a single sign of them.”

Eren narrows his eyes. “Let go of me.”

After a moment, Reiner complies, and Eren doesn’t waste time in scooting as far away from the two as he can, hitting his back against the trunk of the tree. He scowls down at the forest floor, ignoring the tightening feeling in his chest. He doesn’t have to put on an act for this part. 

“I don’t know where they are. They’re somewhere far away,” Eren says quietly. “The Corps, Mikasa, Armin, all of them.”

“What about Captain Levi?” Bertholdt asks uneasily.

The name ignites a flame of white-hot guilt and something more in Eren’s stomach. “He’s not coming, either.” _Not after what I did to him._

Eren’s had plenty of time to think his actions over. He doesn’t regret a single one: he did what he had to, and he’s doing it to protect his friends. But it came with a price. Eren knows he might not be able to see those he loves for a very long time, maybe ever again. And if he does, Mikasa might never forgive him for abandoning her; Armin might never trust him wholly; Jean and Sasha and Connie and Historia may never speak to him either. And the captain? Eren’s stomach curdles at the realization that Levi won’t look at him the same way again— if he even gets the chance to. There will be no more late night conversations, no more cups of tea gone luke-warm, no soft, open smiles reserved only for him. He won’t let himself be just _Levi_ to Eren anymore. It hurts like a dagger to the heart, and each reminder of the man twists the blade deeper and deeper.

But, it’ll all be worth it to know Levi and everyone is safe. Eren will die to make sure of it.

“What?” Reiner says, breaking Eren from his stupor. “Why not?”

Eren flips his mask back on. _Deep breath. Give it everything you’ve got._ “Because...because they all think I’m a traitor like you!” he snaps. “One day everything’s fine, and the next all my friends turned on me. I found out that the commander was going to ship me to the capital to be executed, and I— I didn’t know what to do!” With only a little commanding, tears spring to Eren’s eyes. Reiner and Bertholdt pale at the show. “So I ran. There was nowhere to go except Shiganshina. I just— I— I thought maybe there’d be something in my basement. Something that could help prove I was innocent and that I wasn’t working with you guys. I was desperate. I had no other option. I— I—”

Eren breaks off on a sob and buries his face against his knees, his whole body shaking as he heaves breath after breath. He nearly goes dizzy with the display, but it works— he hears shuffling, and that familiar hand is on him again, carding through his hair and shushing him like a dog. Eren’s skin crawls, but he forces himself not to move away.

“Breathe,” Reiner’s voice reaches him over his own hysterics. “It’s alright, Eren. Calm down. Can you do that for me?”

Eren looks up, hiccuping and blinking hot tears from his vision. He finds himself scowling despite his best efforts. “Stop. Don’t...don’t look at me at like that.”

Reiner doesn’t reply, but continues playing with his hair until Eren lets the theatrics die down naturally. No one says anything for a while, and the only sounds that fill the tense air are Eren’s occasional sniffles and the wind ruffling the leaves. Eren steals a glance at his arms. They’re still bloody knobs just below the elbow. He doesn’t plan on fighting his captors— not yet, at least— but he still doesn’t like being so defenseless.

“Are you okay?” Bertholdt asks warily, crouching in front of him.

Eren could skin him alive for asking such an idiotic question. Instead he nods gently, eyes glazed over and slumped over in exhaustion. He doesn’t pose a threat like this. He can physically feel the two lower their guards at the sight he presents. 

Reiner and Bertholdt exchange a glance over his head. Reiner tugs on a stand of his hair until Eren looks up.

“You don’t have a plan, do you?” he states. “You’ve got nowhere to go, no one to help you. The Corps are out for your head. Everyone you know hates you. You’re stuck, Eren.”

Eren flinches backwards. “You— shut the fuck up! I don’t—”

“Hush. Let us help you. We have somewhere you can go, where you’ll be safe.”

His breath gets caught in his throat. No, they can’t mean… “Where?”

“Home,” Bertholdt answers. His eyes are alight. “We could take you to our home.”

He says something else after that, something with a tone full of hope of yearning, trying desperately to persuade Eren to cooperate. Reiner joins in, his voice low and soothing as he rubs circles into Eren’s nape. Eren doesn’t comprehend a single word they’re saying. He only stares blankly ahead at them, mouth parted in shock. Is it...is it really going to be that easy? When Eren knocked the Corp’s fortress to the ground and abandoned everything he knew, he would never have imagined things going as smoothly as this. But here he was, with Reinier and Bertholdt trying to convince him to return to their homeland. They were delivering Eren his goal on a silver platter— and with it, bringing their comrades their doom. 

For the first time in a long while, Eren thought he might be able to see a glare of light at the end of the tunnel.

But before he can eagerly agree, he catches himself at the last second. _You idiot, of course they were going to bring you to their hometown, it’s what they’ve been aiming for all along. You think you have a choice in this? They know you don’t— they’re just trying to trick you into believing otherwise to make the trip as smooth as possible. Fuck, don’t seem eager! They can't suspect a thing! Damnit— alright. Get into character Jaeger. What’s the expected reaction from you?_

Eren sits up without letting a flicker of emotion pass through his face. He eyes Reiner and Bertholdt. Reiner is closer, but a lot stronger. Alright. Bertholdt it is, then.

He doesn’t expect to get away with it, but Eren doesn’t let that stop him. He lunges at Bertholdt, successfully knocking him over with the element of surprise on his side. He has about two seconds to do anything he wants before he’s thrown off. Eren eyes the skin of Bertholdt’s throat. He could sink his teeth in and tear a chunk of flesh out. Or he could jam the stumps of his arm into Bertholdt’s eye socket. No, too far, and there’s not enough time. He can’t risk seriously incapacitating either of them if he wants to be taken to their hometown. Eren settles on something mostly harmless: he rears his knee into Bertholdt’s groin. 

Reiner grabs Eren by the waist and tosses him to the side as Bertholdt curls up and lets out an agonizing groan. Damnit, no tears. Eren should’ve kicked harder.

The breath knocks out of him as his back collides with the tree branch. Eren stays down, wheezing, and eventually Reiner comes back into view looming over him. Eren fights for enough air to speak. 

“Fuck you _and_ your hometown,” he gasps.

Reiner’s eyes narrow. Eren doesn’t even see the boot coming until it’s stepping on his throat. He lets out a broken, strangled sound and goes to claw the foot off when he realizes he has no arms to fight back with, and an acidic burst of anxiety bleeds into his veins. 

“Quit fighting,” Reiner says, cold as stone, “or I’ll cut your legs off, too.”

It’s enough of a threat that Eren complies, and when he stops struggling against the weight on his broken windpipe, Reiner steps off. Eren lays on his back, staring at the dark leafy tree tops and trembling with rage. The minutes tick by as he waits for his body to heal itself. His arms will need more time, but at least he can breathe again. Eren shuts his eyes and tries to tune out Reiner and Bertholdt murmuring on the other end of the branch. If he listens too closely to their voices he might just ruin the plan and kill them both— or try, anyways.

“You good?”

“Yeah,” Bertholdt says, slightly breathless. “Damnit, that hurt, though. I can’t wait for this day to be done with. I want to go home, Reiner.”

“I know, me too. We’ll leave soon; I should be good to go within an hour. Eren’s arm shouldn’t regenerate by then, and we’ll still have plenty of time to travel in the dark without having to worry about titans or the Survey Corps.”

A moment’s pause. “This is our chance. Without the Corps in our way, we can go to Stohess and rescue Annie.”

A sigh. “Bertholdt…”

“Reiner, please. This is our last opportunity, and it’s perfect. They’ll never suspect we’d double back and get Annie, and if we go now, we can still hop the walls and escape while it’s dark!”

“You know it’s too risky. Hell, even heading here to recuperate was a gamble. If the Corps don’t know we’re here yet they will soon. And besides, we just don’t have the time to waste. We have to go to Utgard Castle and pick Ymir up before we leave, and going on foot will be hard enough as it is. It doesn’t make sense to—”

Eren shoots up. “Did— did you say Ymir is at Utgard Castle?” 

The two startle. They share a glance, and Reiner eventually answers, “Yes.”

His heart stops.

“You’re telling me that Ymir is alive?”

“She is,” Bertholdt says hesitantly. “We haven’t returned home since— er, the last time we tried to take you and Christa with us, so we left Ymir there when we went to Shiganshina.”

Eren, too stunned for words, can’t form a reply. The two look at him with suspicion, but when nothing follows suit, they return to their conversation. Dear god. Breathe, Eren. Breathe.

Ymir is alive.

It changes everything. Before, Eren’s only chance at finding the enemy was through Reiner and Bertholdt. It’s why he went rogue and was hiding in Shiganshina: he knew they’d come looking for him there, so he put up a mock-fight and let himself get abducted once more. Eren kept himself in check and didn’t slaughter them— despite every muscle in his body screaming at him to attack— because he needed them to lead him to their homeland, so he could finally put an end to the war and wipe out their comrades for good. That was it. That was all Eren needed them for.

But, Ymir is alive. She’s alive and Eren can use her to take him instead. 

The realization emerges gently. He can’t let himself believe it, as if he hurries to conclusions too suddenly it could disrupt everything and shatter his plan like a glass cup. _I can kill them,_ Eren thinks. _I can do it right here, right now. There’s nothing stopping me anymore. It’s...it’s perfect. There aren’t any titans awake for them to call and help, Reiner is still injured, and with the trees this high and dense, Bertholdt won’t be able to transform._

Eren can finally hang those bastards Reiner and Bertholdt to bleed out in this forest.

The branch creaks, and the two turn at the sound.

Reiner’s eyes widen. “Hey—! Eren, sit down! Don’t make me slice your legs off. I told you to—”

Eren bites the inside of his cheek. Coppery blood floods his mouth. Bertholdt and Reiner’s jaws fall as they scramble to a stand. Time stalls.

Then an explosion of light blinds them all, shining like a beacon in the pitch-black night as Eren transforms into his titan.

+

Travelling at night is always unforgiving, but given the conditions, Levi and his squad are nearly ready to pass out over their horses. It’s frigid out, they’re riding blindly, and Levi doesn’t even want to think about the journey back, or what he may or may not find in the forest. Hell, he hasn’t given what he’ll do afterwards _any_ thought. He figured he’d feel out the situation then make a judgement call— but Levi’s not confident in his current ability to make the right choice. All his mind can focus on is the idea of a nice, warm bath and finding Eren.

“I think I see the trees, captain,” Mikasa says at his side over the rhythmic stomping of the horses’ hooves. 

He strains his eyes. “You’re right. There it is.”

The Forest of Giant Trees looms up ahead as nothing more but a shadowed monster in the dark. They’re close, maybe a hundred yards away from the tree line. Relief floods through Levi, though he knows they’re nowhere near done for the night.

Sasha whoops from behind. “Thank God! It’s about time.”

“I feel like we’ve been riding all night,” Connie says.

“We _have_ ,” Jean groans. “All fuckin’ day and night.”

Levi shares their sentiments, but if he has to listen to a single more complaint he will cut someone’s lips off. “Shut up, all of you, and listen up,” he says. “We’re out of our territory on this one. I want each of you on your guard; keep your ears peeled for anything suspicious. If Reiner and Bertholdt and Eren really are here they’ll be deep in the woods and high up. Remember that an attack could come from any angle. They could drop down on us from up top and we wouldn’t know it until—”

A flash of light explodes from within the woods, and the following blast of air and sound startles the horses and knocks Levi and his squad to the ground. The animals scream, Levi’s ears are ringing, and his team is yelling in confusion, only adding to the chaos. It takes less than a second for the situation to weigh in, then Levi springs into action.

“Go, go, go!” he shouts, leaping onto his horse. “Find that titan!”

He snaps the reigns and his horse takes off. He’s not sure he hears the stampeding of his team behind him, but he doesn’t crane his neck and check: he trusts that they’re there. Levi pushes his horse as fast as it can go until they’re crossed into the horizon of trees. It’s even cooler in the reprieve of the forest, and the blackness of the night is so thick Levi can’t see his own hands in front of him. 

It can’t be more than a minute when a second bolt of lightening strikes down upon them, much closer this time. Levi barely avoids getting bucked off his animal. Something— or somebody— roars loud enough to shake the trees around them.

“Shit!” Jean says, skidding to a stop next to him. “Both of them?!”

“They’re right there! What should we do, captain?” Christa says.

Levi unsheathes his blades and stands. His heart is beating so quickly it might jump out of his chest. “Leave the horses. We’ll use ODM to get there. Now!”

He aims his grappling hook at what he hopes is a tree branch and shoots, zooming into the open air. Levi prays that none of them smack against a tree or fly into each other in the dark. Somebody screams— but it’s not one of his team. There, up ahead in a spot of moonlight, Levi sees two titans grappling on the forest floor.

“Eren?!” Mikasa shouts. She bypasses them all and zips to the scene.

Levi curses. “Fall back, you idiot!” She doesn’t listen, obviously, and Levi grits his teeth before following after the girl.

There’s finally enough light to see by, and Levi safely lands on a nearby branch to observe. The others park beside him, panting and staring down at the two monstrous figures below them, trying to discern where one ends and the other begins. 

“Is it Eren?” Armin asks. “Is it? I can’t tell.”

“It has to be,” Sasha replies. “It’s clearly not Bertholdt.”

Almost on cue, the titan on the ground lets rip a gut-clenching bellow, and they all recognize it instantly.

“It’s Eren,” Levi mumbles.

Eren kicks the other titan off of him, sending it into the curtain of dim light, revealing him to be Reiner. Eren stands, fumbles, then his legs buckle and he crashes to the forest floor with a _whump._ Levi’s stomach drops with him.

“What’s wrong with him?” Historia crawls dangerously close to the side of the branch to peer over. “Get up, Eren!”

At that moment, Mikasa flys over and joins them, breathing heavily. She pulls Historia away from the edge.

“Eren is injured,” she says, voice shaking slightly. “His arms— they’re only bone. He won’t last against Reiner.”

Said titan pushes himself to a stand using one of the trees for support. Reiner’s armored jaw is hanging at a wrong angle, and one of his arms seems to be twisted out of place. It doesn’t deter him, and he charges full-speed at Eren. The two collide and go skidding deeper into the woods.

“ _Eren!_ ” Armin screams. He scrambles up and aims his pistols to follow, but Levi grabs onto his arm and halts him.

“Hold it, Arlert,” he says. He turns to address them all. “We need to find Bertholdt. I’m not sure why he hasn’t joined yet— maybe the trees are preventing him from moving freely— but if he transforms we won’t be able to take them down. Sasha and Historia, I want you to find him. Search all the trees: he can’t be far. Try to avoid killing him if you can, but do whatever you need to restrain him. The rest of you follow me. We’re going after Reiner.” Levi raises his voice to be heard over the fighting. “We are _not_ letting what happened in Shiganshina this afternoon repeat itself, am I clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” sounds off like an echo.

Historia and Sasha take off in opposite directions, jumping stealthily from tree to tree in search of Bertholdt. Levi signals their formation and they take off: Mikasa and him at the lead, Armin on the right, Jean on the left, and Connie covering them from behind. 

Reiner has Eren pinned to a tree when the Levi squad catches up. He latches onto Eren’s pathetic, skinny little arms and snaps them off like they’re twigs. Eren screams, jumps, and wraps his legs around the other’s neck in a choke hold. It’s no use— Levi can see the counter-attack coming long before Reiner actually moves. The Armored Titan folds them to the ground, raises a hardened fist, and slams it onto Eren’s face. Flesh and bone splinter and rain blood around them.

Levi’s breath catches in his throat. _Eren…_

His rage boils over all at once, lighting through Levi’s body like a live wire. “ _Attack!_ ”

He springs into the air, a sword in each hand and his sights set on Reiner. The titan turns around and spots the team for the first time. His eyes widen. He holds out an arm, leaving the joint of his shoulder vulnerable to Mikasa and Jean’s attack. The limb falls; Levi flips over it and slashes through the titan’s left knee in one clean move. 

“Armin, Connie! Take out his other arm and leg!” he shouts.

Connie screams something unintelligible in response, and soars through the air with his blade swung up over his head. Just as he’s about to slice through Reiner’s flesh, the titan turns his way. Levi’s heart drops. But Connie isn’t swatted away like a fly to splatter against one of the enormous tree trunks— a sight still burnt in Levi’s retinas from the last time he lost his squad— instead, he catches himself at the last moment and uses the momentum to swing over and around Reiner, skidding to a stop on the other end of the glade.

“Connie!” Jean shouts, voice cracking. “Oh, you motherfucker. You stupid, lucky motherfucker.”

Levi opens his mouth to yell— at who he doesn’t know, he just needs to vent out his budding frustration— but before he can shout more orders, Reiner limps to a stand on his one leg. His squad gets into position and readies for another attack.

But it doesn’t come. Reiner turns tail and hops farther into the woods, using the trees to propel himself forward. He forages around in the foliage, and retrieves Bertholdt in the safety of his fist. Reiner spares a look over his shoulder at Eren’s steaming titan corpse. Then he’s gone, hurrying into the shadows.

“Bastard, get back here!” Connie shouts.

Sasha and Historia fly over. “Captain!” Sasha says, “The Armored Titan is weak, we can chase him!”

“I agree,” Jean says, “now might be our only chance.”

Levi clenches his fist. Fuck! How did he let those two escape him twice in a single day?! Has he grown weak? Where’s his head? Damnit! He’s going to— 

“Oh my god, _Eren!_ ” Mikasa screeches.

The boiling fury inside him extinguishes instantly.

“Leave them,” he says absently, seeking out Eren’s titan. 

“Wh— Captain!”

Levi shoots a wire and flings himself over to where Mikasa and Armin have gathered around Eren’s body, slumped against a tree. Steam billows off of him, nearly obscuring the bloody mess around his missing arms and the gory stump of what used to be his head. Levi swallows hard, hands shaking.

“Step back,” he says to Mikasa, attempting to climb atop Eren’s corpse. She has tears in her eyes as Levi settles a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright, let me handle this.”

“No, I—”

“Leave it,” Armin tells her gently. “Trust the captain.”

She gnaws on her lip, arms twitching at her side as she glances back and forth between Eren and Levi. Eventually, she gives him a stern nod.

Levi pulls himself up to the titan’s neck easily. Eren’s nearly slumped in half over himself, the delicate skin of his nape exposed in a glint of moonlight. Levi grasps his sword firmly between both hands. One-meter across and ten-centimeters wide. He inhales sharply and plunges the blade into the flesh of the titan, neatly scoring it in two. 

There he is— almost lost in the blood-stained mess of muscle and skin and ligaments. There’s Eren.

The others crawl up Eren’s shoulders and gape as Levi reaches in and pulls the boy out. He’s scorching to the touch and his newly-formed arms are still bright red. Oh, he feels small. Smaller than he should be, smaller than Levi remembers— but very real. How long has it been since he’s seen the boy? Touched him? It feels like years. Feels like Levi’s brain won’t quit buzzing and his heart won’t stop thundering and his hands won’t settle down from wandering shakily over Eren’s face. He cradles the teen in his lap and taps his cheek: no response.

“Come on...come on…” Armin mutters from somewhere to the side. Mikasa falls to her knees and clutches onto Eren’s hand so hard her knuckles turn white.

“Eren?” Levi tries. He slaps his face, harder this time. “Oi, Eren! Wake up, lazy brat!”

Eren’s face twitches. He lets out a small groan, mouth falling open, then his eyelids are fluttering to reveal dim jade-green eyes seeking for something in the dark. They land on Levi. Recognition flashes through his gaze, and a slow but brilliant smile lights his face.

“C...aptain?”

Levi lets out a shaky breath. “It’s me.”

Eren blinks, his grin growing wider. His eyes droop and his tone falls sluggish. “Hi, Levi.”

He thinks somebody gasps behind him, but Levi ignores it. He tries to hold back the smirk quirking his lips and fails. “Hey, Eren. Are you with me?”

Eren hums. He attempts to lift his arm, hand outstretched for Levi’s face, but only has the strength to grab his cravat, fingers bunching in the fabric and brushing against the skin of Levi’s throat. At once, the serenity drops from his features, instead replaced by a furrowed, haggard expression. 

“No…” Eren mumbles, eyebrows scrunching as if he’s in pain. “ _No, _” he whines pitifully. “You’re not supposed to be here…”__

__He slumps in Levi’s arms._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eren realizing his plan to make Reiner and Bertholdt lead him to their hometown has worked: all according to keikaku
> 
> but!!! Eren's not a traitor! wow...who could've seen that coming...totally not predictable...actually, my sarcasm doesn't work as well here if you're a manga reader. oops.
> 
> also let me apologize for giving you four seconds of an ereri reunion and then having eren pass out immediately. sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you in the upcoming chapters? It's still going to be very plot/action heavy (seriously, this fic has gotten away from me) but now the ~romance~ can finally begin.
> 
> thank you all for reading, especially to the people who have this story subscribed/bookmarked :') literally fills me with joy


End file.
